You've Got Mail
by vinkunwildflowerqueen
Summary: The introduction of a pen pal program between Shiz University and the Central Emerald College will change lives in more than one way. Fiyeraba. Musicalverse. Shizera. AU... maybe. Slightly. Sequel coming in 2013 "Come What May"
1. Chapter 1

**You've Got Mail**

**By Vinkunwildflowerqueen**

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. Greetings from Singapore!**

**Yes, I am in Singapore at the moment for my **_**Wicked **_**trip. I won't go on about it (mostly because there aren't enough words to describe how I'm feeling!), only to say that I am thoroughly enjoying myself. I've seen the show once so far, only two more shows to go! :( **

**But as seeing the show always inspires me, I became so impatient to begin posting my latest fic! **

**This was inspired by the movie **_**You've Got Mail**_**, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Obviously, I've changed quite a bit, but I hope you enjoy it! **

**One**

When Madame Morrible called a meeting for all the students at Shiz about a month into the first semester, everyone was curious as to why.

"Maybe they've introduced a new 'no freaks' policy?" suggested Galinda when she and her friends were discussing it during History.

Although she didn't list names specifically of who would have influenced this apparent new policy, it was clear to everyone she was talking about her reluctant roommate, and Shiz's resident green girl.

"Or maybe they've introduced a 'no sex in bathrooms or closets' policy," Elphaba said aloud to no one in particular, but so everyone could hear. "It's desperately needed."

Galinda's pretty face flushed, and she fell silent. It had been a hot topic of news that Galinda Upland had been caught with a boy in a compromising position the week before in a janitor's closet in the Arts building.

"Elphaba, you shouldn't say things like that," scolded Nessa, looking ashamed at her older sister's actions, as she often did.

Elphaba sighed, but didn't say anything as Dr Dillamond entered to begin the class.

When everyone gathered in the auditorium at the appointed time, Elphaba suspected it was mostly out of curiosity, and she had to give the HeadShiztress credit. By specifically not mentioning for what purpose she wanted to address them on, she was ensuring that everyone would actually turn up.

Elphaba went, but only because Nessa had wanted to go. Elphaba, who had no desire to find out what was so important, had protested initially.

"You'll find out tomorrow anyway when everyone is talking about whatever it is," she pointed out reasonably.

"Are you worried about not being counted in the peer group unless you hear it directly?"

Nessarose frowned. "Elphaba, _please. _I can't go alone, you know I can't. Father would never approve."

Elphaba sighed. They both knew perfectly well their father had only agreed to send Elphaba to Shiz as well as Nessa under the condition that she look after her sister's every need as she had her entire life. Elphaba had already failed in this duty once by not being able to room with her sister, and she was loath to fail again, partly fearing if Nessa was unhappy, her father would pull her out of Shiz and take her back to Munchkinland.

"Ok, ok," she agreed.

So here they were. Elphaba hung to the back, away from everyone else.

Madame Morrible took centre stage and cleared her throat, and the hushed voices in the room fell expectantly.

"Thank you students for coming," she began. "I have a very thrillifying announcement to make! As you may or may not be aware, for the past few years, Shiz University has been building a relationship with a fellow University in the Emerald City, Central Emerald College. Sort of a sister school partnership, if you will.

This means not just building a relationship of friendship between the schools themselves, but between the students of each school. So, to this end, I would like to announce the foundation of a pen pal system!"

A wave of noise broke out, and Madame Morrible waved them all quiet.

"How this will work," she explained. "The headmaster of the CEC and I have established that it will be up to Shiz students to make the first contact. If you choose to be a part of the program, you will write a general introductory letter and deliver it to the administration office within the next three weeks. Then you will be randomly paired with a student who has likewise registered at Central Emerald College. After that you and your pen pal must arrange to receive your letters however suits you each individually. Pairings are _completely _random, but how open you choose to be with your pen pal is up to you. Are there any questions?"

Galinda raised her hand immediately. "So, we don't even get to pick if we want to talk to a boy or a girl?" she asked.

Madame Morrible shook her head. "No, Miss Upland."

Galinda looked unsure how she felt about that, and Madame Morrible turned to take another question.

Nessa however, looked excited. "That sounds like so much fun!" she gushed to Elphaba as they were leaving the auditorium.

"I think I'm going to sign up. What about you, Elphaba?"

Elphaba snorted. "I highly doubt it, Nessa."

Nessa frowned. "Why not? It's a wonderful way to make a new friend."

The green girl raised an eyebrow at her younger sister. "Are you saying I need more friends?"

"I'm saying you need _a _friend," Nessa replied bluntly. "You've never had any. And a pen pal wouldn't know that you're green."

Elphaba was completely stunned. It was so unlike her sister to be so blunt, and frankly, uncaring.

"I'm not desperate for friendship, Nessarose," she said, her tone uncharacteristically sharp with her sister.

Nessa winced, sensing she had offended her sister. "I'm not saying you are. I just thought… it might be nice for you to have someone to talk to."

Elphaba softened, and she gave a faint smile. "I have you for that."

Nessa smiled back. "True. And I suppose there's always Galinda."

Elphaba rolled her brown eyes at the mention of her roommate. "Sure, if I'm desperate."

"Well, _I'm _going to sign up," Nessa said decisively.

"Good idea," Elphaba agreed vaguely.

And she was being sincere. She had no interest in signing up, but she thought the basic premise of the idea was a good one. Building relationships with other universities would in turn strengthen the relationship between the two towns. A pen pal program might eventually lead to trips to the Emerald City, which Elphaba would love to be able to take part in.

But Elphaba still didn't feel the need to sign up herself. As she'd said to Nessa, she didn't feel at a disadvantage because she was mostly alienated from the rest of society because they were prejudiced against her skin colour- abnormal as it admittedly was.

Plus, she had quite enough to focus on with her studies and caring for Nessa. She didn't need to add keeping up with correspondence with a stranger on top of that.

The pen pal program was all anyone else could talk about for the rest of the week. People's opinions seemed to be mixed, from what Elphaba could gather; but pretty much everyone completely missed what Elphaba was sure was the motivation behind the scheme (and Dr Dillamond had privately confirmed her suspicions to her), which was all about building relations between the two schools and their respective cities.

"I can't believe we don't get to pick who our pen pal is!" Galinda complained to her friends two days after the announcement. "I mean, what if we get paired with someone who is totally below our social standing? I have a reputation to uphold, you know. Momsie and Popsicle would be _horrified _if I was corresponding with anyone unsuitable."

Milla nodded in agreement. "And we can't even pick if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Would you want to write to a _boy _though?" Shen-Shen pointed out.

Pfannee giggled. "A cute boy I would."

The others all giggled and agreed, and Elphaba rolled her eyes.

The girls were all camped out in Elphaba and Galinda's shared room. Galinda pointedly invited her friends over constantly, feeling that as the room _had _been intended to be her own private suite, she had every right to do as she wished without consulting Elphaba or having any regard to her green roommate.

Elphaba, for her part, retaliated by refusing to be pushed out of her room, as much as she loathed Galinda and her friends. It was her room too, she had just as much right to be in it as Galinda; and if her presence happened to irritate the blonde… well, that was just a bonus.

Elphaba was lying on her bed reading, and trying to ignore the conversation on the other side of the room. But she couldn't help but reflect that the conversation just proved how little they knew. The Central Emerald College, whilst not as a prestigious university as Shiz, was incredibly exclusive. Elphaba doubted there would be any student attending who would be deemed "unsuitable" to correspond with Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands.

If anything, she might be deemed too low-class for _them. _

"Are you going to sign up, Galinda?" Shen-Shen asked, and Galinda paused thoughtfully.

She was painting her nails (pink of course) and held her hand out to admire the affect as she kept the girls waiting. She knew that whatever her answer was would decide if Milla, Shen-Shen and Pfannee, and indeed many of the Shiz student population would enrol in the program.

"I think it would be a goodly thing to do," she finally replied slowly. "I mean, I'm _so _busy with my studies and all, but I think being able to do our part and build friendships between Shiz and the CEC is the right thing to do."

"Oh, you're _so _good, Galinda!" exclaimed Pfannee and Galinda waved a hand modestly.

"Oh, _stop," _she laughed lightly. "And besides, we may get lucky and meet a handsome, single man!"

"Doesn't Fiyero Tiggular go to the CEC?" Milla asked, and Pfannee and Galinda nodded in confirmation.

"Who?" Shen-Shen frowned in confusion.

Milla, Pfannee and Galinda looked at her like she was stupid.

"Fiyero Tiggular!" Pfannee stressed.

"The Vinkus prince with the utterly scandalacious reputation?" Galinda added a faint dreamy look in her eyes.

Shen-Shen's eyes gleamed with recognition. "Oh! He's _so _handsome! But he'd _never _do something like this would he?"

"No," Galinda admitted with a heavy sigh. "Something like this would be far too _common _for Fiyero. But a girl can dream, can't she?"

They erupted into giggles again, and the conversation turned to Fiyero Tiggular and the many stories about him.

Elphaba continued to read her book and ignore them. Nessa had already written her letter and submitted it, and her only worry was what would happen if her pen pal was someone she had nothing in common with.

"Then you stop writing, it's as simple as that," Elphaba had shrugged when Nessa brought it up.

Nessa looked horrified. "That would be rude, Elphaba!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and sighed. "Then write simple, vague, polite notes once a month and say you're too busy with your studies to write more regularly."

Nessarose had found that suggestion more acceptable.

Elphaba didn't think too many people had signed up yet, but once word got out that Galinda Upland had signed up, there was a mad rush to follow suit.

Elphaba remained firm in her decision not to do the program. She wasn't good at interacting with other people, and it could only end one way. Eventually, whoever she was writing to would learn about her skin colour and all correspondence would cease. So it was just easier not to begin in the first place.

And like she had told Nessa, she didn't need friendship. She was perfectly happy on her own as she always had been.

Right?


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. Another WICKED viewing deserves a second update, no? **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 1! So exciting when everyone engages with a new story so quickly! And yes, it isn't so much a mystery who Elphaba's pen pal will be. But hopefully I can surprise you a little with how it all plays out!**

**Two**

The Central Emerald College (or CEC) was located within the Emerald City. It had been founded some sixty years ago, when Shiz- the most reputed and prestigious university in Oz, made the decision to begin scholarship programs to allow those from every social class the equal chance of getting a quality education.

Some of the higher social climbing families of Oz took offensive to this decision. These were mostly royals or noblemen, who disapproved of the idea that mere peasants should have an equal education with their children. So, they pooled their money and created the CEC.

It was terribly expensive, terribly exclusive and proud of that for a good fifty years. However, in recent years they had been trying to shed that image.

The Vinkun King and Queen had initially decided against sending their son there. After all, one day Fiyero would be King and it wouldn't do to create the impression that he believed himself above his people.

However, once Fiyero had been expelled from his third school, the King and Queen had had to make the decision between the CEC and Shiz. The main reason they had chosen the CEC over Shiz was that the CEC was smaller and more exclusive.

The King and Queen hoped that would be enough to put a stop to Fiyero's habits and behaviour that had ultimately expelled his from his last two schools (he had flunked out of the first).

Unfortunately, that plan hadn't worked as well as they'd hoped. However, Fiyero had so far lasted a month at the CEC, and the King had even dared to hope he might make it a whole semester this time.

"Tiggular! Pay _attention!" _

Fiyero's head jolted up, and he looked at the CEC Headmaster innocently, as the man stood glaring down at him from the dias and the whole assembly turned his way.

"I was listening, sir!"

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Perhaps you can recap what I've been talking about for the last ten minutes then?"

Fiyero grimaced inwardly. Truthfully, he'd tuned out after the first minute or two. But he nonetheless climbed to his feet and cleared his throat, feeling the eyes of his teachers and fellow students on him.

"I believe you were talking about… the proud history of the CEC and how… uh…" Fiyero trailed off uncertainly.

He caught the eye of his roommate, who mouthed something to him and mimed writing in the air.

Fiyero frowned, not sure what his friend was trying to tell him. "Uh… and that we should continue that tradition by… taking pride in our… writing?"

The Headmaster stared at Fiyero, unimpressed.

"Thank you for volunteering, Mr Tiggular," he said finally.

Fiyero was still clueless. "Volunteering for what, sir?"

"Sit down, and pay attention," the Headmaster ordered and Fiyero obeyed, wondering what exactly he'd "volunteered" for.

"As I was saying," the Headmaster continued. "We are beginning a pen pal program with Shiz University. This will create strong bonds not only between the students of both the CEC and Shiz; but the schools and the towns themselves. There will be a sign up sheet in the administration building.

Shiz students are writing the first letters and when they arrive, everyone who has signed the sign-up sheet- as Mr Tiggular will be doing immediately after this meeting; will be allocated a letter. The letter you receive will be your permanent pen pal. There is no swapping, and all decisions are completely random."

Fiyero groaned. A pen pal program? Really? As if he didn't have enough work to do already with his studies! Ok, he didn't actually do any of his school work (well, he didn't do much), but the last thing he wanted to have to do in his free time was write _letters _to some stranger.

He didn't even write to his parents, for Oz sake! Fiyero knew he had no hope of getting out of it, the Headmaster would drag him to the sign-up sheet if need be. Of course, he could always "forget" but that wouldn't delay it for long.

As soon as they were dismissed, Fiyero rushed over to his roommate and grabbed his arm.

"You suck at sign language. What was _that?" _he asked, mimicking the movements Lau had made trying to give Fiyero the answer.

"It was writing a letter! And I mouthed 'pen pal'! It's not _my _fault you can't guess!" Lau replied indignantly.

Fiyero sighed, and then had an idea.

"Lau! Come sign up to this pen pal thing with me," he suggested to him.

Lau snorted. "Why would I do that?"

"Because... it could be fun?" Fiyero suggested half-heartedly.

Lau shot him a look that told him he didn't buy that for a second. Fiyero sighed heavily, he didn't buy it either.

"Ok, this is going to suck," he admitted. "But I don't want to have to do this alone. Come on, Lau! You're majoring in public relations! This is right up your alley!"

Lau rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure public relations will be all about a pen pal program," he said sarcastically.

Fiyero wasn't giving up though. "I'll set you up with Mugei," he suggested, naming a pretty girl on campus Lau liked.

Lau was wary. He knew Fiyero had a way with girls, but wasn't sure if Fiyero could truly pull it off.

"How are you going to do that?"

Fiyero shrugged. "Girls listen to their friends. And Mugei's friend Julinha is pretty cute."

Lau knew where this was going. "So, you hook up with a pretty girl, convince her to convince her friend to go out with me; and we both have to do this pen pal thing?"

"Yep. So we both win!" Fiyero exclaimed happily.

Lau sighed. "Ok," he agreed reluctantly.

Fiyero grinned happily, but their conversation was interrupted as the Headmaster appeared behind them out of nowhere.

"Heading to the administration building, Mr Tiggular?"

Fiyero turned hastily. "Yes, sir. I was just encouraging my fellow students to do the same. You know... take the opportunity to make new friends and all."

The Headmaster raised an eyebrow. "Well, get a move on and then get to your next class."

Fiyero had no intention of going to his next class, but he nodded. He waved goodbye to Lau and headed over to the administration building, taking his time.

Sure enough, there on the noticeboard was a sheet of paper.

"_Pen Pal Program! Sign up to make a new friend!"_

There were no names on it yet, and Fiyero heaved a sigh as he reluctantly picked up the pen hanging next to the sheet and scrawled his name. He purposely wrote it almost illegible, so with any luck, few would be able to read his name and it wouldn't be known that Fiyero Tiggular had enrolled in a _pen pal _program.

So, that night when a group of CEC students went to _The Jewel Box, _the most swankified place in that part of the Emerald City, Fiyero confidently approached Julinha with a smile.

"Hey. Want to dance?" he asked her charmingly.

She looked stunned for a moment, almost as if she thought she was dreaming. But then she nodded, and accepted Fiyero's hand.

It didn't take long before Julinha and Fiyero had moved to a somewhat private corner of the room. Between kisses, Fiyero told her about Lau and what a great guy he was, and that he _really_ liked her friend Mugei.

As he'd predicted, Julinha's eyes lit up.

"We should set them up!" she cried happily. "And then we can double date!"

"Sure," Fiyero agreed dismissively, and then drew her back to him.

Now he had fulfilled his end of the deal, he could enjoy himself.

Julinha made all the arrangements and introduced Lau and Mugei. Lau was thrillified and dutifully carried out the agreed proposal and signed his name for the pen pal program.

Plenty of others had signed up, and there seemed to be a quiet curiosity about who they would potentially be paired up with.

Fiyero wasn't curious though. To him, this just sounded like more work.

"How often do you think we have to write to them?" he asked Lau.

"And really, how are they going to know? They won't be reading or grading our letters, so what's the point?"

Lau laughed. "If you'd been paying attention in the assembly, you'd know."

Fiyero stared at his roommate incredulously. "Are you kidding me? How could anyone pay attention to that? His voice sounds like a donkey with a head cold."

That was admittedly true, so Lau didn't argue.

"It might not be so bad," he said sympathetically.

"How?" Fiyero demanded.

Lau shrugged. "You could actually make a friend? That way when you ultimately get expelled from here, and have no option but to go to Shiz, you'll already have a friend."

Fiyero considered that and then grimaced. "As soon as whoever it is finds out who I am, I'll be the laughing-stock of Oz."

Lau rolled his eyes at Fiyero's dramatics.

Although he hadn't wanted to sign up initially, Lau was excited to see who he would be paired with.

Shiz students still had two weeks to decide to sign up and write their first letters. And then they'd know.


	3. Chapter 3

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. This update is dedicated two-fold. **

**First of all, (not that they're going to read this) to the amazing Wicked cast, who are performing their last show in Singapore today. Thank you so much (again) for such amazing shows. And for all being so lovely and welcoming at the Stage Door each night. Especially to David Harris (Fiyero), who is awesome and took the time to tweet us and chat while we were in Singapore and to Elisa Colla (Nessarose), who is the sweetest and most genuinely nice person I think I've ever met in my entire life. You guys made us feel like we weren't bugging you for photos and autographs every night! I'm going to miss you all so much!**

**Secondly, to Kelly, one of my closest friends and my travel buddy! I had so much fun in Singapore, and spending eight days with you, when the majority of our friendship has just been on twitter, it was really great getting to spend time with you! It was my first time getting to see Wicked with someone as obsessed with it as I am, and as much fun as it is seeing people's reactions who don't know the show; seeing it with someone who won't judge me for crying/not breathing through certain scenes is definitely much more fun! I miss you already (and now I'm crying again as I write this... great)! **

**Three**

There were three days until the pen pal program began and all letters must be written and handed in to the administration building, as Madame Morrible and the teachers kept reminding them all.

The staff were reasonably pleased with the amount of people who had signed up, but Elphaba was sure if they could have made it a compulsory requirement for every student to sign up they would have.

She knew Nessa had signed up, and written a polite note to her prospective pen pal, giving a few details about her personal interests and asking questions about the Emerald City, the CEC and her pen pal's own interests.

Elphaba had been in the room as Galinda wrote out half a dozen pages for her own letter, all in pink ink on pink paper. She neither knew nor cared what the blonde had written, but felt sorry for whichever poor CEC student was bestowed the task of having to write back to her.

Elphaba had given the program no more thought, although Nessa kept pushing her sister to sign up.

Every morning, Elphaba would make her way to Madame Morrible's compartment to collect Nessa so the two sisters could have breakfast together before going to their first class.

"Morning, Nessa," she greeted her as she entered the room. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, thank you," Nessarose replied. "I just need a moment and then we can go."

Elphaba nodded and perched herself on the end of Nessa's bed as she watched her sister brush her hair.

She wasn't really paying attention, until Nessa slid a headband through her hair and revealed her ears. Then Elphaba did a double take.

"Nessa, where did you get those earrings?" she asked sharply.

Nessa turned to her sister in surprise. "Father sent them to me last week. Why?"

Elphaba had no words. "They- they were Momma's," she said finally, staring at the small pearl earrings dangling from her sister's earlobes.

Elphaba had only been three and a half when her mother had died giving birth to Nessa, but Melena's things hadn't been packed away for a year after her death, and Elphaba had distinct memories of admiring her mother's jewellery before it had been put away.

Frex had been firm about keeping Melena's things shut away. Elphaba used to wonder if it was because seeing them was too painful for him, or whether he just wanted Elphaba not to see them. But to see the earrings in Nessa's ears...

Nessa didn't look fussed by Elphaba's comment.

"I know they were. Father said he thought I might like something to remember her by. He said that these were her favourite and she'd want me to have them."

Elphaba had to swallow her first reaction, which was to point out that Nessa had never met their mother, as she had died giving birth to her. Elphaba wasn't sure what made her ask, deep inside she knew it was pointless asking, but the words slipped out before she could stop them.

"Did he say anything about me?"

Nessa frowned. "No. Why would he?"

Elphaba stared at her incredulously for a moment before answering. "No reason. I guess it was stupid of me to think that my father might think that I might want something of my dead mother's to remember her by," she said sarcastically.

Nessa hesitated. "Fabala, it's not like you have any interest in jewellery or clothes or anything like that!" she defended herself.

Elphaba's eyes widened. "He sent you her clothes too?" she demanded.

"No, not yet. He just said if I wanted them, he would send them."

Nessa was puzzled by her sister's reaction. "Elphaba, I don't think Momma's dresses are your style."

"I never said anything about _wearing_ them," Elphaba snapped. "But did you or Father ever think that I might want something of hers?"

"You have that bottle you sleep with," Nessa returned pointedly.

Elphaba stalled momentarily. She hadn't realised her sister knew about the bottle. Her father definitely didn't. Elphaba had rescued it from the trash one day when she was five, after Frex had found some of Melena's things in the back of the bathroom cupboard and thrown them out.

Frex had never noticed, but Elphaba had been careful to keep it hidden under her pillow, lest he should discover it and take it away.

"Nessa, that's a _bottle_," she stressed. "I hardly think it was one of Momma's dearest possessions."

Nessa still looked confused. "I just… I never thought it would matter to you."

Elphaba felt stung. Her own sister really thought that the memories of her mother, of having something to remember her mother by would mean _nothing _to her? That she was that cold and unfeeling?

Abruptly, she stood up. "You know what? I forgot I have to go to the library before class."

"What about breakfast?" Nessa asked.

"I'm not hungry," Elphaba replied, not looking back as she left the room.

Elphaba headed across campus to the library, although she had no real need to have to go there. But it was the first place she thought of on campus where she could be guaranteed to be alone.

She spent the forty minutes before class aimlessly roaming the shelves, her thoughts on her mother. In all honesty, her father's actions shouldn't have surprised her or bothered her that much. It wasn't like it was anything new, her father completely ignoring her and passing her over in favour of Nessa.

And Elphaba didn't begrudge her sister anything; she knew how much Nessa had suffered not only not being able to walk, but never having known her mother. But it was Elphaba, not Nessa who had memories of their mother- however faint they may be; and Nessa had never shown an interest in Melena's things before.

They had history first that morning, and Elphaba decided to head over to the classroom with ten minutes before the bell. Focusing on class would take her mind off things, and she thought she should apologise to her sister. It wasn't Nessa's fault that their father hadn't thought of Elphaba.

She sat in her usual seat in the front row, saying or doing nothing except looking over her notes from last lesson.

Nessa entered five minutes before class began, wheeling herself to the opposite side of the room from her sister. Elphaba made no motion she had noticed this, but she was surprised. Nessa always sat with her… she was the only one who did.

"Good morning everyone," Dr Dillamond greeted them all as he entered. "I trust everyone read chapter three as I asked you to in preparation for today's lesson?"

Elphaba lifted her eyes to the Goat and nodded silently. He didn't seem surprised by that, and offered her a faint smile in return.

"Brown-noser,"

Elphaba heard Pfannee mutter, even from three rows back.

"Don't you mean green-noser?" Shen-Shen giggled, barely troubling to keep her voice low.

Elphaba ignored them.

"Less discussion please," Dr Dillamond called out. "Now, chapter three, for those of you who read it, presented opposing arguments as to whether the province of Ugabu is in fact a part of Oz or not. But the question is who is disputing the claims? Ugubians or Ozians? Who can tell me?"

To no one's surprise, Elphaba's hand rose into the air. Dr Dillamond waited for only a moment, lest someone else should raise their hand, before nodding to Elphaba.

"Yes, Miss Elphaba?"

"The Ugubians declared themselves independent from Oz after the arrival of the Wizard," she spoke in a clear voice. "They've acted independently since, although they've never formally separated."

"Precisely, Miss Elphaba," the Goat beamed at her.

Dr Dillamond began to speak about the relationship between Ugabu and the rest of Oz since the arrival of the Wizard in Oz some twenty-odd years ago.

"The Emerald City has sent several dignitaries to Ugabu over the years to try and negotiate a settlement that will make everyone happy, but-"

He stopped talking mid-sentence as a hand rose into the air.

"Yes, Miss Gl-Glinda?"

Elphaba turned around in surprise; it wasn't like Galinda to contribute in class discussion- not in history anyway. Even from three rows away, she could see the blonde's nostrils flare. The mispronunciation of her name always irritated her. No matter how many times the blonde corrected him; Dr Dillamond couldn't get the "Ga."

Now, Galinda's face was serious as she lowered her hand to speak.

"I don't understand why we even _want _Ugabu," she said matter-of-factly. "I mean, why should _we _care if they want to be separate from Oz?"

Elphaba answered before Dillamond could.

"Before they declared themselves independent from Oz, they provided forty per cent of Oz's revenue from exporting the minerals mined there to Fliaan. Ever since, Oz has lost money that was previously used to pay for the service of roads and buildings."

"You think that Ugabu should be a part of Oz?" Boq asked Elphaba.

Dr Dillamond remained cautiously quiet, always eager to promote class discussion and debate.

Elphaba paused thoughtfully. "Although the natural resources it possesses are valuable to Oz; no. I don't think so. It's proven itself to be able to sustain itself independently in the last twenty years."

Galinda scoffed. "Really? Ugabu is a mountain range, forest and swamp. There's not even a City! How is that sustaining itself?"

Elphaba mocked surprise. "You actually know where Ugabu is? I thought you made a point of only knowing places that had a shopping mall?"

"Well, I'm not surprised _you're _interested in Ugabu," Galinda retorted coldly. "They're _your _kind, aren't they?"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "_My_ kind?"

Dr Dillamond tried to intervene, sensing danger, but Galinda spoke over the top of him.

"Your kind. Freaks. Frankly, I think we're better off without Ugabu."

But everyone knew she was no longer talking about only the province.

"Miss Upland!" Dr Dillamond exclaimed sharply, as the class laughed and Elphaba flushed.

"That is quite enough," the Goat stepped in, and the students fell silent.

He set them to copying notes off the board, in complete silence as punishment. Elphaba didn't say anything for the remainder of the lesson.

She always tried not to let the comments people made bother her; or at least let it show that they bothered her. But they did, of course they did. Elphaba wished she could just stop caring what people thought- her life would be so much easier if she could, she knew.

It was nothing she wasn't used to, and she couldn't help but think that it would be logical to just get used to the cruel words and cold tones; or that eventually, there would be nothing people could say that she hadn't heard a million times before.

It didn't escape Elphaba's notice that not even Nessa had stood up for her or defended her sister. Dr Dillamond was the only one who had intervened- but then again, he was a Goat. He was also used to being ridiculed and ostracized.

Elphaba felt a surge of loathing for her blonde roommate. She loathed her for her shallow, materialistic personality; her simpering, high pitched voice that dripped with false kindness and modesty; and the way she only bothered to acknowledge those she deemed worthy. She was nothing more than a selfish, spoilt, rich girl and Elphaba found it incredulous that everyone at Shiz looked to her as a role model.

When class was finally over, Elphaba made her way over to Nessa. She wanted to make up with her sister from that morning, especially in light of what had happened in class. It would be nice, Elphaba reflected as she tossed her things back into her bag, to have someone to talk to.

"Nessa, do you want to get some lunch?" she suggested to her sister. "I thought maybe we could talk."

Nessa looked up at her sister with a smile, but before she could answer, Galinda walked past.

"Nessarose, there's a bunch of us going to the _Wilted Rose _for lunch, do you want to come? I thought it would be lovely to have a bit of time, just us girls," Galinda beamed.

Elphaba watched her sister's face lit up with a sinking heart. She knew what it meant to Nessa to be included in such things. Her chair and inability to walk usually meant she was left out of things when her friends back in Munchkinland had done things together.

Nessa looked guiltily over at Elphaba. "Raincheck, Elphaba? Whatever you wanted to talk about can wait, can't it?" she asked hopefully, her eyes pleading.

Elphaba hesitated, and then sighed. "Sure, it's not important," she agreed dully and Nessa happily wheeled away with Galinda and her friends.

Left alone and with nothing to do, Elphaba headed back to the library and her quiet corner.

The library was empty; clearly no-one was forsaking their lunch in favour of books and studying. Elphaba sat down and sighed. She pulled out a notebook to do her homework, but ended up just sitting there, staring at the blank page.

She had always talked to Nessa in the past about these things. As different as the two sisters were, they could always talk to one another about pretty much the only thing they had in common- social isolation, for very different reasons.

But apparently, now that Nessa was given the opportunity to be included, she no longer had time for her sister. Elphaba wasn't one for being open with her feelings too often, but she always appreciated knowing she could talk to Nessa, if needed.

Sitting alone in the library, Elphaba felt an emotion she didn't often feel- or admit to feeling. Loneliness. Elphaba had never had a friend, or a confidante or anyone she felt understood her. Not even Nessa, they were just too different. But sometimes, like now… she couldn't help but think it would be nice to have someone to talk to, or just some way to be able to get her thoughts and feelings in order and on paper, instead of supressing them and bottling everything inside.

Elphaba heard a movement from behind her and jumped, but it was only the librarian, Miss Ceallagh.

"Sorry, Miss Elphaba. I didn't mean to startle you," the librarian apologised.

Elphaba shook her head. "No, it's fine. I was lost in thought."

The librarian smiled. "Well, I won't disturb you. I just came to pull down the posters."

Elphaba frowned slightly in confusion as she looked up. Sure enough, on the wall above her head was a bright yellow sheet of paper, advertising the Shiz/CEC pen pal program and encouraging students to sign up.

Elphaba didn't know how she'd missed it; they were plastered all over campus.

"_Pick up a pen! Make a pal!"_ was the incredibly witty and clever slogan that Morrible had created to sell the program and Elphaba rolled her eyes every time she saw one.

But Elphaba had to give credit for the sentence which followed- "An opportunity to make life-changing friendships with students enrolled at the CEC"; if only because it was less cheesy and cringe-inducing then the first line.

_Notice how they don't mention if these friendships are life-changing for the better or for worse,_ she thought to herself. But she found herself frowning thoughtfully at the blank page before her.

_Life changing friendships… _

Elphaba scoffed internally at the little voice in her head. As she'd told Nessa from the beginning, she wasn't desperate for friends, and she had more than enough to do between her school work and caring for Nessa without having to find the time to write letters to a stranger. And besides, it could never end well. Even if she wasn't green, people didn't exactly warm to her personality.

Yet she still found herself picking up the pen.

"_I don't know why I'm doing this,"_ she wrote.

"_I've said from the beginning that this was a waste of time, yet here I am, writing to a complete stranger. _

_I don't have anything against the program, per se. I happen to think that encouraging a good relationship between Shiz and the CEC is a good idea. But there's something about the idea that just doesn't sit with me well._

_Maybe it's the part about writing to someone I don't know, and who doesn't know me. Although, that could be a good thing. _

_But for all I know, you're a mad man, an insane psychotic axe-murderer waiting to find out my name and address so you can murder me in my sleep. And I know… this program is between Shiz and the CEC and I doubt that the CEC would allow such a person into such a prestigious institution._

_So, I shall amend my hypothesis to suggest that you are a potential aforementioned mad man… or woman. It would be unfair to suggest that all axe murderers are male, I know plenty of girls here at Shiz who I'm sure have the potential to murder innocent people in their sleep… if only over a pair of shoes or such nonsense._

_After all, even axe-murderers were ordinary people who blended into society once, right? And it would likewise be unfair to suggest that axe-murderers or psychotic people are incapable or underserving of a university education. If anything, such people would be the most dangerous mass murderers of all, don't you think?_

_Sorry, I'm rambling. But I am somewhat wary of revealing my identity to a complete stranger… just in case you are revealed to be someone that in ten or twenty years people will be locking their doors against and are afraid to venture outside after dark, lest they should meet you in a darkened alley._

_So, my proposal… if I haven't scared you off with my talk of murderers, is this. That we keep the personal details to a minimum… at least for now. _

_You can call me…"_

Elphaba stopped writing, unsure what name to give. She didn't want to give her own name, whether it was because she honestly believed the person who would read the letter (if she dared send it) would actually turn out to be a murderer; or because a fake name was just something to hide behind, she wasn't sure.

She didn't want it to be something too far from her own name, but just far enough away so that most people wouldn't trace it back to her. Finally, out of seemingly nowhere, it came to her.

"_You can call me Fae,"_ she finished the letter and tore the page neatly out of her book.

She didn't stop to look back over her words, just hastily folded the page and tucked it within the book.

Then she sat there in her chair, staring at it. Should she send it? It wasn't too late; she could rip it up, throw it away, burn it and pretend it never existed. The whole idea of sending it was ludicrous, wasn't it?

Yet somehow, she was leaving the library and making her way to the administration building.

"Excuse me?" she asked the lady at the desk.

"Do you have an envelope?"

The woman behind the desk looked up at Elphaba silently for a moment. She stared at her, and slowly reached into a desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. Then she handed it to Elphaba, with an expression on her face that suggested the envelope was one of her most dearest possessions and the prospect of giving it to Elphaba was just too horrendible.

Elphaba didn't understand her reluctance, but noticed she was careful not to touch Elphaba's green hand as she handed it over and figured that probably had a lot to do with it.

Heaving a sigh, she thanked the woman with limited patience and took it aside to address it. Then, after one last moment of hesitation, she slipped it into the box.

And that was that. It was out of her hands.

**AN. You guys really didn't think this was going to be _that_ simple, did you? ;) **

**But I figured as tough as Elphaba is, she's also human. Sometimes we really need a friend or a way to vent.**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. So, yep, Elphaba was having a really _bad _day. I figured it would take something big for her to admit she's lonely, because you know Elphaba- always the strong one, pretending she's fine.**

**And a special hello to Julia-Caesar... for no other reason than we haven't talked for a few days. Miss you, Jules!**

**Four**

Fiyero stared at the envelope in his hands, twirling it absent-mindedly.

The Headmaster had interrupted lunch to hand out the first letters that had arrived from Shiz that morning to officially begin the Pen pal program.

"How this happens," he announced, looking at those assembled students who had signed up for the program- however reluctantly.

"Each envelope was stamped before it left Shiz with a unique number. Today, you will be randomly given an envelope. The number you are given is henceforth your number. When the letters arrive from Shiz, they will be attached to the noticeboard in the administration building. You can pick them up from there. When you reply to the letters, make sure you label your envelope with that number."

Fiyero took the envelope he was handed without much interest. It was only labelled 'To CEC student' in small, neat writing and had the number #216 stamped in the top right hand corner.

He didn't open it, just shoved it into his bag. Lau, however, had already opened his and was reading intently.

"Who'd you get?" Fiyero asked casually, not really out of interest, but to make conversation.

Lau's expression was hard to read. "Some guy named Antim…. From Gilikin, majoring in History… he's a sophomore. Nothing ground breaking, but he seems nice enough. You?"

Fiyero shrugged. "I'll read it later."

"Later" turned out to be the next morning. Fiyero had gone out drinking with some friends that night after class, and it was only the next morning when he was rummaging in his bag for aspirin that he found the letter.

Swallowing two aspirin dry, Fiyero pulled out the letter. He had actually almost forgotten about it.

For no real reason other than it was something to do, he opened it and pulled the letter within out of the envelope. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but as he read it, his eyebrows rose.

She thought he was an axe murderer? Or had potential to be an axe murderer? He was a _prince, _for Oz's sake! And she had given him a fake name? Well, he was assuming it was a girl- a boy going by 'Fae' would be… odd, to say the least.

But maybe "Fae" was on to something, he mused. He stood by what he had told Lau when they signed up, that when word got out he was taking part in such a program, he'd be the laughing stock of Oz. But if he too, used a fake name… it might just stay quiet. At least, it wouldn't leave the CEC.

Then he did a double take. He was actually considering replying?

'_Well, why not?' _his inner voice questioned. _'You know she's a girl… she could be hot.'_

Well, _that _was true. Although he was at the CEC and she was at Shiz. But still… It was a Saturday, and Fiyero had no plans for that day. And it beat doing schoolwork, right?

And he couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about the way she wrote… it just made him want to answer.

It took him a while to track down pen and paper, but then he plopped down on his bed and began to write.

"_Dear Fae,_

_I get it. The whole not-knowing-why-you're-doing-this thing. I didn't exactly volunteer for this, but I'm not sure why I'm answering this. _

_I don't get the 'axe-murderer' thing, but hey if you want fake names and secrets, I'm okay with that. For different reasons than you, but I'm willing to go with it. _

_But a fake name requires some thought. I guess you can call me… Dathien. But I like Fae. And it's much better than #216, which is all I had to go on before now. Fae is nice._

_So, Fae- I guess it's customary to go through the normal routine when you make a new acquaintance. Age? Major? Yada, yada, yada. Or does that count as too much information than you're willing to give a possible axe murderer or stalker?_

_As for myself, I'm male, 23 and I'm majoring in Political Science. That's all you need to know at this stage._

_Sincerely, _

_Dathien."_

It was short, he knew, but he didn't really care. There wasn't a word limit, was there? No one would see this except the mysterious #216 or "Fae" and he didn't exactly have a lot to go on to comment on.

Dathien was the name of his childhood imaginary friend. To Fiyero, it seemed as good a choice for a fake name as any. And it struck him, that he could be anyone to this girl. He'd never meet her; the only way he was ever going to communicate with her was through this stupid program.

So, he could be anyone he wanted to be. Anyone he needed to be. Anyone she needed him to be.

So, he mailed the letter back the next day. It was just under a week later that Lau entered their room, and tossed him a letter.

"I grabbed that for you. It was on the noticeboard."

Fiyero looked at it, and saw it was another letter from Shiz.

"Oh, thanks man."

He slit it open, and unfolded it as Lau disappeared into the bathroom.

"_Dear Dathien_, [it read]

_I admit I was surprised you chose to write back. In hindsight, most people would have been insulted by my suggestions they were capable of being an axe murderer. _

_I don't know what it suggests about you that you wrote back. _

_Sorry- I don't mean to be so critical. Habit, I guess. _

_Well, I stand by my idea of not revealing personal details, but I'm not exactly sure what to write now._

_In answer to your questions, I'm female (unless Fae was too subtle for you- although I don't mind #216), and I'm 21. As for my major, I haven't settled on one yet. There are too many things I'd liked to do. At the moment, I'm considering a double major and maybe a minor._

_Question for you- What is it like to live in the Emerald City? I've never been, but I hope-"_

Here, there was a splodge of ink and then the writing began again, firmer and more hurried as though the writer was hurrying to get all the words down as quickly as possible.

"_Whoever wrote the social ladder? Who was it, I wonder, who deemed that some people had power over others? And is it coincidence, that the people who hold the power are the ones that are judged most attractive?_

_What power do they get exactly? Is there some kind of cash bonus I'm unaware of for being the most popular? _

_But if you __question_ _said system (as I'm doing now, ironically) you get accused of being bitter or jealous. Well, I'm not. Honestly, I don't think having the power would be worth it. _

_The whole system seems ludicrous. People at the top can be knocked down for the slightest infringement, any action that is deemed socially unacceptable. People in the middle can likewise move up or down, but however much or little they move, they are still in the middle. And people stuck down the bottom- deemed the most unpopular, might be able to move to the bottom of the middle, if they're lucky._

_We wouldn't run a government like this, so how can we run society like this? _

_Sorry, I'm ranting. I always imagined university would be a place of learning, and a cultural experience. There's so much drama and bitching going around campus, I feel like no one's left puberty behind. _

_Take my roommate, for example. You may have noticed the abrupt subject change above. Well, I was distracted when my roommate had a catfight with a friend of hers… because her friend bought the same pair of shoes! Gasp! The horror! What are the chances that two girls who have the same taste in clothes would buy the same pair of shoes? _

_There's a simple solution though, isn't there? Surely the way to stop this audacity from occurring in the future is to list all purchases on a noticeboard in the middle of campus; and fine or shoot anyone who dares buy the same thing as you? And does it count if it's the same thing, but in a different colour?_

_Well, I'll leave this here- I have an essay calling my name._

_Sincerely, _

_Fae."_

Now, it was safe to say that Fiyero was one of those mentioned who were at the top of the social ladder. However, he had fallen into that place- being a prince and all.

And he knew better than anyone that being popular was not all it was cracked up to be. In fact… although Fiyero would never admit this and never let it show, but sometimes, being popular could be lonely.

And he thought that Fae raised some very good points, and questions. Questions that Fiyero had asked himself before.

He found himself laughing as he read her words again, it was all so true. He couldn't help but wonder just where on the social ladder she was writing this from. From something in her words, he got the impression she was one of those in the middle.

And he had gained a bit more information into her- she was 21. That would make her a sophomore, right? And she was either brainy or crazy, if she was debating a double major and a minor. Ordinarily, that would be enough to turn Fiyero away- they clearly had nothing in common.

But the second half of her letter… he could definitely write something about that.

He didn't reply straight away, it took him a while to find the motivation to actually sit down and write a letter. There were so many other more important things to do.

But eventually, he sat down and picked up a pen.

"_Dear Fae/ #216,_

_First of all- a double major and a minor? Are you insane? _

_And as for the Emerald City… I guess it's a nice place to live. It's not home, but of all the places in Oz I've been, the City of Emeralds isn't too bad. There's a good nightlife. I'm sure anyone could find something to amuse themselves here. But it's very green, if you're into that. _

_The whole social ladder thing… I get it. You'll forgive me for not confessing my own place in the hierarchy (not because it will defy our 'no personal information' rule, but in case you start lecturing me)._

_As for the power that comes with being popular, I agree. I don't think it's worth it either."_

Fiyero stopped in surprise. He hadn't intended to write that, yet there the words were on the page before him.

He thought about crossing it out, but didn't.

"_It's ironic actually. People think being popular is always about having the most friends; but sometimes being popular means you don't know who your friends are. Are these people around you, talking to you, because you're you or because you're popular? _

_And I haven't heard anything about a cash bonus for popularity (although I don't think there'd be any complaints about that- think of all the shoes you could buy with that! Or whatever popular girls buy); but having that power means a certain amount of pressure._

_As you stated, people on the top can be knocked down for anything, and those in the middle can't climb to the top. We all know this. It's why popular people fight so hard to stay on the top- because they know if they fall to the middle, they're stuck there forever._

_If you reach the top because you look a certain way, or act a certain way, you have to keep that up to stay on top. _

_But on another subject, the bit about your roommate and her friend made me laugh, and I think your idea is a good one. What's your roommate like?_

_Talk soon,_

_Dathien."_

**And Fiyero's first reply is... typically Fiyero, I felt. In length that is. **

**Finally, before anyone reviews! Please remember that Elphaba and Fiyero will both be making assumptions about each other from the brief information they get from the letters. **

**These assumptions can be wrong.**

**I just didn't want anyone reviewing and telling me I'd gotten something wrong. This is done 100% on purpose. **


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. Thanks so much for all your lovely reviews so far! And to Hedwig, you commented that "I certainly love how honest Fiyero is. Usually that doesn't happen until he gets scratched by a baby lion." I'm glad!**

**My thinking was that we all know Fiyero isn't as really shallow and self-absorbed as he pretends to be. And because "Fae" doesn't know who he is, he can be himself. Does that make sense?**

**And thank you to PocketSevens and anon, both of who mentioned the "it's very green, if you're into that" line :D I was very happy with that line, haha. **

**Five**

The first snow fell on Shiz during one night in late November as the campus (well, most of the campus) slept.

Elphaba had never seen the snow before, having grown up in Munchkinland where it didn't snow, and she quickly fell in love with it.

A few days after that, she hurried out of her last class for the day and quickly headed to the administration building to check for mail. She made a point of doing so each Friday afternoon when class let out, because finding mail gave her weekend a great start.

And there would _always _be at least one letter from Dathien. It was the highlight of an otherwise long and dreary week for Elphaba. In the beginning, she hadn't been able to help herself from checking every day, but the disappointment she felt when there were no letters waiting for her had convinced her to make it a weekly thing.

"Fae" and "Dathien" had been writing one another for about a month and a half by now, and they exchanged anywhere from three to six letters a week. Although she hadn't wanted to sign up initially, she was grateful for her relationship with Dathien… friendship even.

They stood by their agreed deal to not reveal specifics, but the things they talked about didn't need required specifics. Elphaba didn't even know if someone asked her, she could say what they talked about in their letters.

In the beginning, their first few letters had been more about the social ladder, and popularity and the price of that. Then they had moved on to other issues, both social and personal. Elphaba gave commentary on what was happening around Shiz, especially things involving Galinda and her friends- although she was careful not to give names.

She hadn't said too much about Galinda, just that they were "very different" from one another. They may not get along, but she wasn't going to badmouth her to a stranger. She had even mentioned herself once- not by choice. Apparently, she had been mentioned in a letter to one of Dathien's friends (just as "the green girl") and Dathien had passed it on to her, laughing at the crazy rumours that started.

"_Actually, that's true," _she had written in her reply. _"I'm well aware of how bizarre that sounds, but I can assure you it's true."_

That had ignited Dathien's curiosity, naturally, and he had asked more questions about it in his next letter to her. Elphaba debated for just a moment whether to confess "the green girl" was her, but she didn't. And Elphaba could protest her reasons why, but she knew because she was afraid if she did confess her identity, he would stop writing.

"_There's not much I can tell you. She's green, she's a girl. What more do you want to know?"_

"_Why is she green? What kind of green are we talking about? Grass green, lime green? Do you know her?"_

Elphaba had almost laughed when she'd read that last question. But she'd dutifully replied.

"_I don't know why she's green. There are rumours of course- that she ate grass as a child, for example. As for the shade… I couldn't say. It's not a pretty green, though. I know of her, but she keeps to herself and I keep to mine."_

It was so strange writing about herself in the third person, but Dathien seemed to pick up on her tone and never asked another question about the mysterious green girl.

As Elphaba entered the administration building now, she was flooded with warmth as soon as she stepped inside. Although she was grateful for the quick respite from the cold air and wind outside, she didn't dally. She grabbed the mail waiting for her, and hurried back to her room to read in privacy.

She was surprised to note that one of the two letters was from her father. She didn't exactly make a habit of contacting Frex, nor he her. She had written him at the beginning of semester to complain about her room arrangements with Galinda (to which he had never replied). But all communication really went through Nessa.

Although it was tempting to read her father's letter last (or not at all), Elphaba reluctantly opened the envelope and took out the letter.

"_Elphaba,_

_I've been hearing from Nessa, she said she's participating in some pen pal program with the Central Emerald College. _

_I've heard nothing about this program. Who established it? The school? Why would you encourage your sister to write with a complete stranger? For Oz's sakes, Elphaba, we don't even know who she's writing to! _

_And why does she need to take part in a pen pal program? Does she not have friends? Are people being cruel to her? Don't forget, Elphaba- your job is to take care of your sister. That includes making sure she's happy. Just because you're happy to be alone is no excuse to ostracise your sister from her peers._

_Make sure you're doing the right thing by her, Elphaba. It's the only reason you're at that school, and I won't hesitate to bring you home if you're neglecting Nessa._

_Father."_

Elphaba was furious. Yes, she was responsible for taking care of Nessa, but did he really think Nessa wasn't capable of making her own decisions? Or that Elphaba would be so reckless with her sister's safety?

Nessa, Elphaba knew, had been paired with a freshman girl at the CEC from the Glikkus. They had things in common and were getting along. Reading her father's letter again, Elphaba was thoroughly irritated.

Tossing it aside without another thought, Elphaba turned to Dathien's letter. She was actually slightly apprehensive about what he would say. In her previous letter, she'd confessed perhaps the most personal thing she'd revealed to Dathien so far.

That she kept to herself and whilst there were "people" she talked to (Nessa was people, right?), she didn't really have any close friends. She didn't even remember how she'd begun writing about such a thing, but suddenly there it was.

"_People don't really want to be around me," _she'd admitted.

It was only after she'd posted the letter that she regretted her words slightly, but by then it was too late.

"_Hey, Fae!_

_How's it going? The CEC is all about mid-terms right now, and I'm guessing Shiz is the same. Have I mentioned I hate mid-terms? What's the point of them even? Just to ruin our upcoming holiday?_

_I can't wait until I get to go home for Lurlinemas. We always have heaps on fun over the holidays- it's the best time of year for parties. Are you going home, or away for winter break?_

_It's nearly one am as I'm writing this, but I wanted to write back tonight (well, this morning, technically I guess). I was out tonight for a friend's birthday, but I kept thinking about your last letter._

_I can't imagine why people don't want to be around you. Ok, yes, I only know you through these letters, but you seem like a girl who knows who she is and isn't afraid of that. Maybe that's why? Take it from me, people like that, with the courage to stand up and say "this is who I am" are very intimidating. And scary._

_Mostly because everyone else (me) only wishes we had that same courage. I guess it's no secret by now that I'm kind of popular (Don't worry, I won't give specifics). But I can honestly say that I can be surrounded by people and feel completely alone._

_Sometimes (a lot of times) I don't think I'm happy. I'm popular for certain reasons, and some of those reasons I can't change or do anything about. The others… I think it's too late. So, I deal with that by… acting the way I'm "supposed" to act. Does that make sense? _

_My mother (that's not revealing anything too specific or personal, is it? Revealing that I have a mother? As so many do ;) Haha) would say that it stems from some childhood incident that affects the way we see ourselves… or something like that. She's big on psychology and all that stuff._

_Sounds ridiculous, huh? But even though it's only been a month and a half that I've known you and we've never actually met, I think you know me more than anyone. I think you could be one of the few real friends I've ever had. _

_And you might think that's an insane thing to say when we're both so careful not to reveal any personal details, but it's true. Even though I'm not giving you any details, I'm giving you the real me I wish I could show other people. So think yourself lucky!_

_So, I should probably get some sleep. Talk to you later, Fae._

_Dathien."_

It wasn't crazy, what he was saying. Elphaba knew exactly what he meant. From the beginning it had felt strange to her, but she was more able to open up and be honest with Dathien than anyone else- even Nessa. Maybe it was that they weren't talking face to face, that it was only words and paper so it was less threatening.

She could take the time and think about her words before writing them, judge the wording and how it sounded before she sent it. And if he said something she felt confronted by, she could calm herself before reacting.

Elphaba had never had a friend before, let alone a "real" friend, so she couldn't say for sure, but she thought she agreed- that they were becoming friends. It was a surreal thought, but she couldn't honestly say it was a terrible thought.

She'd just picked up pen and paper to reply when the doorknob turned.

Hastily, she shoved the letter and paper under her pillow alongside her mother's little green bottle, just seconds before Galinda entered the room.

Not of course, that Galinda noticed or cared what her roommate was doing, but Elphaba wanted to keep her involvement in the pen pal program and her relationship with Dathien a secret. Not even Nessa knew Elphaba had signed up. Why Elphaba was keeping it a secret even from Nessa, she didn't know.

Galinda went directly to her closet, and threw it open. She began taking out dresses and throwing them onto her bed. Elphaba picked up a book from her nightstand and opened it, trying to look like she'd been reading this whole time. Again, not that Galinda cared.

The room was silent as Galinda finally selected a dress, changed and spent an hour doing her hair and makeup. Then finally, she found the perfect pair of shoes, accessories and purse that co-ordinated with her dress before sweeping out of the room.

In all that time she had said not one word to Elphaba- although she wasn't completely silent, the blonde had a habit of talking to herself as she planned her outfits. So, nothing unusual occurred.

Once she was alone again, Elphaba retrieved the pen and paper and settled down to write.

"_Dear Dathien,_

_Guess how I just spent the past hour and a half? Watching as my roommate spent the entire time planning the "perfect" outfit, complete with shoes, makeup and accessories…. FOR DINNER. Not a date, not anywhere fancy, just the local campus hangout. Let me tell you, if she put half as much effort into her studies as she did her appearance, she'd be a serious threat to the top students. _

_Why dinner on a normal Friday night when she doesn't even have a date (I know, I was shocked too) requires an hour and a half to get ready for, is completely beyond me. Is it just me? I mean, I'm assuming as a guy, you don't understand either- or hoping, because I admit it's a bit scary if you do. And maybe as a girl, I should get it. But it just escapes me. _

_Anyway, this was not how I intended to start this letter. Although my initial subject wasn't exactly cheery. Perhaps I should apologise, I feel like I'm ranting to you at least once a week. Do these even make sense, or am I rambling? And I didn't want this to be a relationship based upon me complaining to you constantly about everything that annoys me._

_In answer to your questions, yes, we are preparing for mid-terms right now. Well, at least I am. Some of us are preparing a bit more than others. And I think the point has less to do with holidays, and more about our teachers wanting to know if we've been paying attention and learned anything all semester. _

_I will be going home for Lurlinemas, but it won't be anything special. Holidays aren't really a big thing in our family. _

_But in answer to your question- who said that it's too late to change your outward persona? If you don't like the way you're acting, change it. Unless, of course, it's not your behaviour that's the problem, but the way people perceive you; there is no way you're supposed to act. Just the way people want you to act. _

_From the persona I've come to know through these letters the past few months… I hope that this is the persona you really are, and not whom you are expected to be. And then it makes me curious about this other side of you. I know you said it is, but it's easy to lie when they can't see your face. _

_I get the impression, from things you've said or implied in our previous correspondence, that you have certain responsibilities. I can relate to the strains that come with that. But let me ask you something, where do the responsibilities end? If you have a duty towards someone, are you henceforth responsible for all their choices? Do they lose their own free will and decision- making skills?_

_I realise I'm not being very forthcoming with more details, but it's hard without breaking our 'no specifics' rule. But it infuriates me to think that because I have some degree of responsibility (it would be fair to say it's a lot of responsibility), I am suddenly responsible for everything. There is a line drawn somewhere, isn't there? _

_And no, I suppose it doesn't break any rules to reveal you have a mother. As you said, so many do. _

_And I can admit that you know me more than anyone. But don't go getting a big head- there's not exactly a long list of people that are considered "anyone". But despite my sarcasm, I do value your friendship, Dathien. _

_Good luck with mid-terms. _

_Your friend,_

_Fae."_

**AN. And for those that PM'd me asking if shouldn't Elphaba be a freshman, not a sophomore, you're right; and that Elphaba would be down the bottom of the social ladder, not the middle- you're also right. They're some of those "not always right" assumptions I mentioned in my last AN :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. Thank you to Kelly who randomly inspired the issue of how to get Fiyero to Shiz. Not quite what you were thinking I know!**

**And to anon, who raised the point about Elphaba's skin colour, my thinking was that as far as Elphaba's concerned, she's green. And labelling it with a shade isn't going to make it sound any better or less weird, so she doesn't bother. If that makes sense... but I appreciated your thoughts!**

**And to Wicked is my Life, who suggested Elphaba and Fiyero should meet up for Lurlinemas... they're not quite ready for that yet! You'll see! But thank you!**

**Six**

Suffice it to say, Fiyero hadn't exactly studied hard for his mid-terms. He'd _intended_ to… sort of… but it never panned out.

He'd spent the night before the exams started with a gorgeous blonde… whose name escaped him at the present moment.

And he'd known from the moment he sat down and looked at the paper that he was going to fail. Fiyero, despite what you might think or hear, wasn't thrillified with that idea and even felt slightly guilty, that perhaps he could have prepared a bit more than he had.

So he dealt with that guilt as any normal person would, by throwing a party to celebrate the end of exams and the approaching of Lurlinemas. With lots and lots of alcohol. And then anything that was probably a very bad idea, seemed like a very good idea.

The CEC's pride and joy was a large marble statue that had been a gift from the Wizard himself to celebrate the founding of the school, sixty years ago. It was a statue of the Wizard; although Fiyero always argued that no one knew for sure that it _was _actually of the Wizard- after all, no one had ever seen him. And when the students and staff awoke the next morning, said statue _may _have been… redecorated, for want of a better term.

Fiyero wasn't sure whose idea it had been, all he remembered through a distant haze was a heated debate about how accurate the depiction of the Wizard actually was. That had led to increasingly drunk and random guesses about what the Wizard could look like, if the statue was not an accurate likeness. Of course, the more they drank, the wilder their guesses became until two am found Fiyero insisting the Wizard was actually a dragon.

So, when the new morning came, the statue of the Wizard of Oz had been transformed. It was decorated with bed sheets and towels to look like a dragon. It wasn't a very good likeness of course, but it was obvious to the casual observer what it was supposed to be.

Even if Fiyero didn't actually remember doing the act, he remembered enough of the prior conversation to realise that it _must_ have been him. But he didn't think there was any way to link the act back to him.

But he was wrong.

Unfortunately for Fiyero, the sheets that had made the dragon's "tail" were from his room- complete with stitched label. And when confronted with the evidence two days afterwards, Fiyero knew from experience that "I was too drunk to remember" wouldn't fly as an excuse.

"Who else was there?" the Headmaster asked him.

Fiyero had no idea. He didn't remember _him _being there, let alone anyone else. There had been at least fifty people at the party.

"No one," he replied.

The Headmaster raised his eyebrow. "You expect me to believe you constructed a dragon out of sheets and towels, entirely on your own?"

Fiyero paused for only a moment. "Yes?"

The Headmaster stared at him sternly, and Fiyero knew what the sentence would be before it was laid down.

Expulsion.

Again.

His parents just might actually kill him this time.

That afternoon, Lau sat on his bed and watched as Fiyero packed up his room.

"So… what do you think your parents are going to do now?"

Fiyero shrugged. "The same thing they always do. Lecture me about how I have responsibilities as the future king, and I have to get a degree; and how it's about time I grow up and act my age."

"I meant about school," Lau clarified.

"Oh. I don't know. There's not many schools left in Oz," Fiyero admitted.

Then Lau's face lit up with realisation. "Hey, they might send you to Shiz!"

Fiyero hadn't thought of that. "Oh, yeah... they might."

His roommate… well, roommate for the next few hours still, frowned. "Shouldn't you be more excited about that?"

Fiyero was mystified. "Why should I?"

Lau rolled his eyes. "Dude- Shiz! Your pen pal?"

Fiyero froze as it clicked. "Fae! I hadn't even thought about her."

"So, you'll have a friend when you get there already. That will help," Lau said, but Fiyero grimaced.

"She'll find out who I am."

Lau didn't understand the problem with that. "Yes, and you'll find out who she is. Isn't that how these things work?"

Fiyero sat down, his face apprehensive. "What if when she meets me, she wants to date me?"

Lau rolled his eyes. "Fiyero, all girls want to date you. And you're not going to get sympathy from me with that problem."

Fiyero tried to explain. "Look, since we've been writing… we've become friends. And if I tell her who I am… she might think there's something more there and want to date."

Lau got it now. It wouldn't be the first time a girl had claimed to have a "special connection" with Fiyero, and taken it as a sign of their destined love for one another.

"Well, she's going to figure it out. I mean, if "Dathien" tells her you've transferred to Shiz, and then Fiyero Tiggular turns up at the same time… it's not exactly a mystery," Lau pointed out. "What are you going to do, not tell her?"

Fiyero's face lit up. "Lau, that's brilliant!"

Lau was stunned. "No, it's not! How are you going to do that? She's going to be sending the letters here like she always has- and you won't be here!"

"But you'll be here," Fiyero hinted.

Lau saw where he was going with this. "No."

"Come on," Fiyero begged. "Just pick up the letters from her- you've been doing it most of the time anyway, and send them to me at Shiz, if my parents send me there!"

"And when you write back? Are you going to send them back to her via me too?" Lau demanded.

"No, don't be brainless," Fiyero said as though that was a dumb question. "I'll just wait longer before I send them back so it seems like they'd come from here. It takes, what, a day or two to get from here to Shiz?"

"About that," Lau agreed heavily.

"Fiyero, this would be a lot simpler if you just tell her."

But Fiyero shook his head. He genuinely meant it when he said he and Fae were friends, he didn't want to lose that by failing at a relationship. And maybe, just maybe, he could find out who she was and decide if it was worth revealing his identity.

He knew she was twenty-one, right? And he'd already calculated that would make her a sophomore. If Fiyero was sent to Shiz, as he assumed he would be, he'd unfortunately probably have to start from first year (again), so he wouldn't have to worry about potentially having classes with her. But really, how many girls could there possibly be at Shiz?

"At least I don't have to take the rest of the mid-terms," he said brightly to Lau, changing the subject.

Lau rolled his eyes. "So there's a bright side."

Fiyero laughed. "There always is."

Fiyero had ordered a carriage after leaving the Headmaster's office with his expulsion papers; he'd decided it made sense to leave immediately. Usually he'd take it upon himself to throw a farewell party, but he really didn't think that would go down well.

Contrary to popular belief, Fiyero did have a little sense. Sometimes.

In this case, he'd decided it would be better just to leave quietly and return to the Vinkus to face his parent's wrath.

When the carriage arrived, Lau helped him carry his things down, and the driver loaded them in.

"So, if I get sent to Shiz, you'll-"

"Yes," Lau interrupted with a sigh. "I'll send you the letters from the mystery girl. But I want you to know that I think this is insane."

"Thanks, Lau, I'll miss you too," Fiyero said with a grin.

Lau rolled his eyes. "Just let me know if you _are _going to Shiz. But what happens if your parents decide not to send you to Shiz?"

Fiyero shrugged. "I'll write Fae and tell her to send the letters to wherever."

Lau nodded. "Well, it's been nice knowing you, man. I guess I'll hear from you whenever?"

Fiyero nodded. Lau was a good friend, and he was intending to stay in touch.

"Definishly," he agreed and hopped into the carriage with a wave.

It was a decent length journey to the Vinkus, and Fiyero spent the time wondering exactly how mad his parents were going to be. He was arriving unannounced, a whole week before they were expecting him home for Lurlinemas. It wouldn't take them long to put together what had happened.

When finally they reached Kiamo Ko, Fiyero left the servants unloading his luggage and went to find his parents, figuring it was easier just to get it over with.

He found his mother, Kasmira, in the dining hall, going over menus with their cook. He cleared his throat to announce his presence, and Kasmira looked up.

"Yero!" she exclaimed, smiling at her son. "You're here!"

Then as it clicked, her smiled faded and she sighed. "You're here."

"Surprise?" Fiyero tried tentatively.

Kasmira closed her eyes. "Fiyero, _please_ tell me you're here because you gave us the wrong dates for your vacation."

Fiyero actually thought about it, but couldn't.

"Mom-"

The queen opened her eyes, and Fiyero inwardly winced at the disappointment he saw there.

"Fiyero, I don't know what we're going to do with you anymore. You're _twenty-three _years old! This is the fourth school you've been expelled from!"

He could have argued that _technically _it was only three, because he had flunked out of the first; but Fiyero didn't say anything, and then his father's voice was heard from the hallway.

"Kasmira, do we have guests? There's a carriage out front, and-"

Ibrahim stopped mid-sentence when he entered the room and saw Fiyero standing there. He put it together much more quickly than his wife, and didn't fool around with the possibility that there was any other reason for him being there.

"What did you do this time?" he asked immediately.

"Well… I don't actually know that I did anything," Fiyero defended himself.

Ibrahim was wary. "Which means what, Fiyero?"

"That I don't remember," he admitted.

Ibrahim's eyes narrowed and he pointed to a chair at the table. "Sit."

Fiyero sat.

The cook slipped out of the room silently, but neither of his parents took notice.

"What happened, Fiyero?" Ibrahim asked. "On what grounds did they expel you?"

"Uh, well… _someone _dressed up the Wizard's statue to look like a dragon," Fiyero began slowly.

Kasmira was startled. "How did they do that?"

"With sheets."

"And the finger was pointed at you because?" Ibrahim prodded.

"Because they were my sheets," Fiyero admitted.

Ibrahim raised an eyebrow. "Your sheets, but you claim innocence?"

"I'm not saying I didn't do it!" Fiyero protested. "I'm just saying… I don't know if I did it. Or if I acted alone. There was a bunch of us that threw a party the other night, I had a bit to drink," he confessed.

His parents exchanged a long look. Fiyero knew that look. They were debating who was going to deliver the lecture this time. His father lost.

"Fiyero, let's go to my study. Your mother has things to do."

Fiyero didn't argue, but wondered what it meant that there was such a lack of yelling this time around. But if anything, there was more disappointment. Fiyero kind of preferred the yelling.

He sat down in the same chair he always did, and watched as Ibrahim sat down opposite him, heaved a sigh and rubbed his forehead with his thumbs.

"Dad, I know the lecture by now," he interjected before he could say anything. "I could probably recite it to myself if you want… save you some time?"

"I've been working on a new paragraph, I might as well practice it," Ibrahim replied and Fiyero forced a smile.

Ibrahim shook his head wearily as he looked at his son.

"Yero, if you know it… I shouldn't have to keep repeating it."

"Dad, it's not like I do it on purpose!" Fiyero argued lightly.

Ibrahim raised an eyebrow. "Fiyero, you may not purposely set out to be expelled, but you must know that your actions which lead to the expulsion are wrong."

"Dad, I was drunk. I have no idea what I did the other night," Fiyero said.

"And that worries us, Yero," Ibrahim said seriously. "I understand wanting to have a few drinks, but if you are consuming _that _much alcohol you don't remember what you're doing… this time you may or may not have constructed a dragon out of bed sheets. Who knows what you'll do next time. And if something _does _happen, the consequences could be far worse than expulsion."

This _was_ a new part of the lecture Fiyero had become accustomed to hearing and had been expecting; and he looked down at his lap, ashamed.

"I don't know what else your mother and I can say to get through to you," Ibrahim continued. "Your problem is you don't _think _and you don't apply yourself!"

Fiyero was closing to promising it would never happen again, he'd even opened his mouth, but then closed it. He didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep.

"I'm sure you're tired after your journey, you should go freshen up," Ibrahim said and then picked up a pen and began looking at some papers on his desk.

Fiyero knew that was a signal for him to leave. As he obediently left, he reflected how strange it was that his parents could still make him feel like a child again.

And he didn't know what to make of the fact they hadn't mentioned anything about what would happen next.

He waited all through Lurlinemas and New Year's and still nothing was said. But when there was a week until school would resume, Fiyero just had to come out and ask.

"So, what's going to happen now?" he asked them over dinner.

His parents exchanged a long look before Kasmira answered him.

"The only school left in Oz that will take you is Shiz. But we've been talking about whether it would be better for you just to stay here and hire a tutor."

'_So we can keep an eye on you,'_ was what she didn't have to add.

"I'd rather go to Shiz," Fiyero replied honestly, not too keen on the idea of his parents essentially babying him.

Ibrahim picked up on that. "We figured you would," he said dryly. "But Yero-"

"No, Dad," Fiyero cut him off. "I'll go to Shiz."

There was another silent conversation between his parents. That annoyed Fiyero to no end, but he kept quiet.

"Ok," Ibrahim finally agreed. "But Fiyero… this is your last chance."

"I know," Fiyero assured him.

And he did know. And he couldn't say that Shiz would be different to any of the four previous schools, but the idea of staying here with a tutor… plus, ever since Lau had brought it up, Fiyero liked the idea of trying to find out who his mysterious pen pal was.

He didn't want to meet her, or reveal his identity, but he was curious. But he didn't think it would be hard to figure out who she was.

Besides, he'd need something to amuse himself with while he was at Shiz. May as well be solving this mystery.

His parents were still talking, about how it would take time to enrol him and sort out the paperwork, so he'd be most likely starting a week or two after everyone else, but Fiyero was no longer listening.

Everything would work out in the end.

**AN. Again, no one thought this was going to be simple, did you? :P**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. A lot of people were curious as to how Elphaba and Fiyero would meet, and how Elphaba and Galinda would become friends. Well, it's nothing original but I hope you enjoy it! This is where it gets interesting, guys!**

**And 3Mindy3... to be honest, I'm not entirely sure about the AU thing. That's why I put it as 'AU-ish' in the summary. Thought it was better to be safe than sorry! I did play with the timeline of the play a bit (as vague as it is), just to stretch things out a bit. **

**And to those who were surprised at how soon Fiyero is coming to Shiz, I figured 6 chapters and a semester was long enough :) Which is code for "I was running out of ideas", LOL**

**Seven**

Elphaba was happy to be back at school and into her studies at Shiz. Or she was, until the third week of semester.

Until what had just happened in Dr Dillamond's classroom… she was completely distracted all throughout Madame Morrible's Sorcery seminar, unable to think about anything else than the words written on the board, _"Animals should be seen and not heard." _

It had troubled Dr Dillamond, she knew it had. But she wasn't sure what had upset him more, the words or the involuntary bleating. Elphaba kept mulling over what the Goat had told her as she left the Sorcery room, of all the rumours he was hearing about Animals all over Oz.

"It couldn't happen here in Oz," was the one thought Elphaba kept repeating to herself. But she still thought it made sense to notify the Wizard of what was going on.

With all his Wizard wisdom, surely there would be something he could do to stop what was happening to the Animals?

Elphaba jerked herself out of her thoughts and shook her head, pulling a book out of her bag to try and distract herself. It was a good book, one that Dathien had mentioned in one of his letters to her, and she had been resolved to track it down.

She was so absorbed in the words that she didn't hear or see the carriage speeding towards her at a breakneck speed, until it sounded it's horn and swerved, almost running her over. As it was, she stumbled over and her book and bags went flying to the ground as she let out an involuntary gasp and struggled to regain her footing.

As the carriage screeched to a halt, Elphaba stalked over to pick up her books and ignored the students laughing, before angrily wheeling on the imbecile who could have killed her.

"Hey!" she yelled furiously.

The driver of the carriage leapt down hastily. "Please Miss, you'll disturb him!" he chided her.

Elphaba glared at him. "I certainly will," she snapped, and thumped her hand on the carriage window.

"Wake up, you!" she snarled.

"Young lady, do you realise who this is?" the driver asked and Elphaba bristled.

Young lady? And what make this guy so special so as not to be disturbed?

"I don't _care_ who he is," she retorted coldly, before turning her attention to the passenger inside the carriage, a young man, who was raising his head to look at her and stretching. He'd obviously just woken up.

"Your cart nearly knocked me over, and you're _sleeping?"_

Fiyero was both half-asleep and stunned. He remembered that there was a green girl at Shiz, but he'd hardly expected to come face to face with her so soon.

All he could come up with for a reply was, "Well of course. It's daytime."

The look she gave him made it clear that she wasn't impressed. She turned away incredulously, rolling her eyes.

Fiyero yawned and climbed out of the carriage, turning to Avaric, his old friend and driver.

"See you soon, Avaric. I'm sure I won't last longer at this school than any of the others," he said cheerfully, trying to press down the feelings of guilt of knowing that could very well be true.

He had no reason to expect that Shiz would be different from any school. It didn't matter if Fiyero wanted to stay or not- by now, he was just expecting to eventually be expelled.

He offered a hand to Avaric, and the two performed the secret handshake they had invented when they were seven. The older they got, the more childish it seemed, but it was just habit by now.

Avaric waved goodbye and left, and Fiyero was surprised when he turned around to see the green girl was still standing there, glaring at him.

"Is this _really _how you go through life? Nearly knocking people over and not even noticing them?"

Fiyero really didn't feel like being lectured by a green girl within five minutes of his arrival.

"Well, maybe the driver saw green and thought it meant go?" he suggested, looking at her pointedly and grinning slightly, evidently finding his comment quite hilarious.

_Oh, he's so witty, _Elphaba thought sarcastically to herself, scoffing at him and promptly turned on her heel and left.

Fiyero was too pleased with himself to notice her leaving. When he did, he took a few steps after her, but she moved much faster than he did, so he let it go.

It wasn't long before the word started to be spread throughout campus- that the new arrival was actually the Vinkun prince, Fiyero Tiggular; and he was already planning a massive party at the OzDust Ballroom.

Fiyero, meanwhile was pretty happy with himself. Within ten minutes, he'd planned a party and got a date. She was a cute little thing- Galinda Upland, "of the Upper Uplands", she'd introduced herself as.

And despite the unfortunate run-in with the green girl, he was liking Shiz so far. But he could help but wonder as he passed every girl if one of them was Fae.

She was on his mind so much that he decided to write to her, once he'd sort of unpacked and realising he had some time to kill before he picked Galinda up for their date. It was only when he put pen to paper he realised how hard this would be- to write from Shiz without making any references to Shiz.

Take today for example, he couldn't say "hey, I met the green girl you were telling me about", because that was a fairly obvious clue. But he wished he could, he definitely had a lot to say on the subject! I mean, yes Fiyero had heard she was green, but it was quite another thing to wake up from a nap and find her six inches from your face, glaring at you. And wow… she really was green! Not that Fiyero doubted that, but she really was head to toe (that he could see, anyway), 100 per cent green!

And she had yelled at him! Fiyero couldn't remember the last time a girl his own age had yelled at him- it hadn't been since puberty anyway. But he was torn between amusement and surprise at the way she had treated him.

After a few attempts, Fiyero gave up and decided he'd write to Fae when he heard from her next. Now it was time to get ready for Miss Upland.

Funnily enough, the question of whether Galinda could be Fae had never crossed his mind. After all, she was a freshman and he was sure that Fae was a sophomore. Plus, there was just something about her… he couldn't associate the social ladder scorning letters Fae had written him with the bubbly, popular Galinda.

At exactly eight o'clock, he picked up Galinda who was dressed in a bright pink dress and escorted her to the OzDust. He had to admit it was a beautiful room, and the Shiz students sure knew how to throw a party.

"So, do you know Tena? She's a junior at the CEC," Galinda asked him as they stood there, sipping melon, lemon and pear punch.

Fiyero racked his brain, and conjured up an image of a girl he thought was the one she was referring to.

"Er, I think so. You know her?"

"She's my pen pal," Galinda explained. "The pen pal program between Shiz and the CEC?"

That sparked Fiyero's interest. "You're in the program?"

"Of course! I couldn't pass up an opportunity to play my part in strengthening relationships between our two schools," Galinda beamed. "Are you in the program?"

"No," Fiyero answered hastily. "But I've got friends who are," he covered. "You know… if you're into that sort of thing."

Galinda nodded faintly.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked her, changing the subject and she agreed happily.

They were having a wonderful evening, Fiyero was using his best material on Galinda, and she was giggling and flirting in return happily. Fiyero thought she was cute, she was like every other girl he'd ever dated, and she was by far the prettiest girl in the room.

They were enjoying a private moment when the Headshizstress suddenly appeared, and Fiyero happily hung back as Galinda talked to the woman. Granted he'd only been there a few hours, but he didn't like Madame Morrible. She made him severely uncomfortable, and quite frankly, she looked like a fish.

So he watched as Galinda and Morrible talked, and then Morrible presented Galinda with a training wand. Fiyero saw Galinda's shocked expression as Morrible said something to her, and then she left, leaving the blonde standing there in shock.

"What is it?" he asked, faintly concerned as he approached her.

"I got what I wanted," she said faintly, and Fiyero almost laughed.

"Well, then what's the matter?"

She seemed to think about that for a moment and then smiled. "Nothing," she chuckled.

"Good," Fiyero grinned and offered her his hand again. "Let's dance."

She took his hand, and they swept onto the dance floor. Fiyero was having a great time- good music, good company. And then suddenly there were gasps all around the room and the room faded into silence. Fiyero and Galinda turned, and Fiyero saw the green girl standing at the top of the stairs leading to the ballroom, wearing a navy dress and a strange, truly horrendible hat atop of her head.

Students began to laugh all throughout the room, whispering and pointing at her.

And Fiyero couldn't help but turn to Galinda. "Who in Oz is _that?"_

"It's my roommate," Galinda replied in hushed, embarrassed tones as the green girl whipped the hat off her head. "Please, don't stare!" she begged.

"How can you help it?" Fiyero retorted, watching as she came down the stairs and into the centre of the room.

Fiyero watched her carefully. Involuntarily, the words Fae had written to him about this girl sprung to mind. "_It's not a pretty green, though"_

He wasn't so sure about that. The exact shade was hard to pick, but if Fiyero _had _to label it, he'd probably say emerald- a pale emerald, at least. It kind of reminded him of some of the buildings in the Emerald City… but that could have been because of the lights in the ballroom.

He hadn't looked too closely when they met before, he had been too focused on the fact she was green, but now… once you got used to it, he thought it _was _kind of pretty.

He watched, along with everyone else in the room, as the green girl looked around at everyone laughing at her, and thought she may have locked eyes with Galinda before she sort of laughed and nodded to herself, but Fiyero wasn't sure why. Then she placed the hat back on her head and began to move her arms.

It took Fiyero a moment to realise she was choreographing her own dance- without any music.

"Well, I'll say this much for her- she doesn't give a twig what anyone else thinks," he said to Galinda, wanting to give credit where credit was due, even if in the two minutes he'd met her she seemed like a pain in the ass.

Galinda, however, looked miserable, which was odd. "Of course she does. She just pretends not to… oh, I feel _awful._"

"Why?" Fiyero frowned. "It's not like it's _your _fault."

Much to Fiyero's surprise and confusion, she suddenly handed him her training wand. "Excuse me," she said quietly, then turned and headed towards the green girl.

Fiyero had never seen anything like it. One second everyone was staring at the green girl, and the next Galinda was beside her, copying the awkward movements she was making. And then suddenly, like magic, everyone else was doing it too. The music swelled back in, and Fiyero felt something as he watched, and was compelled to join in.

The moves were inelegant, yet simple and when it all came together, it looked kind of amazing.

He made his way through the now crowded dance floor, until he reached Galinda's side, who was standing hand in hand with her roommate. When she saw him, she smiled.

"Fiyero, this is Elphaba Thropp, my roommate. Elphaba, Fiyero Tiggular."

"We've met," the girl, Elphaba replied, in a dry tone.

Fiyero smiled charmingly. "I remember."

"Thank goodness for that," she said, almost mockingly.

Fiyero didn't really know how to respond to that, so he said nothing.

Galinda frowned. "You've met? How?"

"He almost ran me over," Elphaba answered.

Fiyero had to interject here. "No, I didn't. My _driver _did, there's a difference."

"No matter who was driving, I'm still yet to receive an apology," she pointed out.

Fiyero had nothing to say to that. He forced a smile, deciding to be the bigger person here and apologise, even though it hadn't been his fault.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, she spoke again.

"Oh, please, don't feel obligated."

Fiyero could hear the sarcasm in her voice plainly, and it made him bristle irritably.

Galinda missed it all though. "We should get a drink! Do we want drinks?"

"I'll get them," Fiyero offered and headed off towards the bar.

As he made his way across the room, he had just one thought. Green girl aside, Shiz might just turn out to be an interesting experience.

And now he had so many more questions for Fae.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. So, PocketSevens reviewed the last chapter with the very logical point, that ""I just realized when "Fae" writes "Dathien" to tell him that some jerk's driver almost ran her over Fiyero will know who "Fae" is."**

**That is true... _IF _she chooses to mention it. A lot happened that night which Elphaba might prioritise telling Dathien about...**

**Eight**

It took nearly two weeks before the first letters from Fae reached Fiyero (via Lau at the CEC as planned). In that same time, Fiyero and Galinda had quickly become the most popular couple at Shiz- which surprised no one; and Elphaba and Galinda had become very good friends- which Fiyero quickly found out, was a surprise to everyone.

"_Dear Dathien, _[she wrote]

_Well, the semester here at Shiz has certainly gotten off to an interesting start. All of campus is abuzz with the news that the "scandalacious" Fiyero Tiggular has enrolled here. Did he cause as big a fuss when he arrived at the CEC? And he made an entrance of course, sweeping everyone up in the craze and completely regardless of anyone around him. _

_Anyway, I don't expect to have much to do with him. And most likely he'll be expelled within a few months anyway, and this will just be a story we tell one day. That's a terrible thing to assume, isn't it? _

_And I don't even know him, so I can hardly say if the rumours surrounding him have any element of truth to them. For all we know, they're completely false. After all, rumours have a way of growing to the point of disbelief, and for him to have been expelled (as they say) from four schools before now does seem a bit much._

_I mean, really, what could he have done to get expelled from four different schools? Actually, I don't really care. It's none of my business, and it's hardly what I wanted to write to you about._

_It's funny where we find friendship, isn't it? I mean, there's you and I, for example. I don't want to keep rehashing that neither of us signed up to this program with the hope or expectation of actually finding friendship, yet here we are. _

_And recent events have made me think about things… I've been reminded that there's more to people than first impressions. And what seems to be our favourite topic- the difference between the way people are seen and the way they are._

_There's a girl I know, (I won't say any more about her, due to our non-specifics rule), but I always took her for one of those superficial girls, more concerned with popularity and her appearance than anything else. But the last few weeks, I've gotten to know her a lot better. And whilst she can be all I just described her as, she's more than that. And although I never expected to be able to call her my friend, I think that's the best way to label our relationship._

_Which I'd be happier about if not for her boyfriend. I swear to Oz, I've never met anyone irritating. Well… maybe irritating is the wrong word… he just… ugh, there are no words. He's perfect for my friend, of course, so I'm happy for her. She's thrillified- she's already sworn to me they're going to be married one day._

_I couldn't tell her I don't have especially high hopes for this- from what I know, he doesn't seem to be the marrying type. Although, he could prove me wrong, I suppose. People can change their minds, and we've already discussed the perils of taking people at their appearances. That's been proven to me repeatedly. _

_It seems love is in the air though (I thought that was supposed to be a spring thing, not late winter?). Another girl I know is also happily falling head over heels… but this one worries me, which made me decide to write to you today. The guy she's with is nice enough, I just get the feeling she's more into him than he is into her._

_This girl is very insecure and a bit of me feels as much as she believes she loves this boy, she's more in love with the idea of being in love- or the belief/hope that someone is in love with her. Does that make sense? You're a guy, is there a way I can tell if I'm right or is this breaking some secret guy code by telling me? _

_Not else much is happening here, I'm afraid. We got our mid-term results back, and I'm pretty happy with my marks. How did you go on yours? In the last letter I had from you before break, you seemed a little worried. _

_Nevertheless, I have faith in you, and I'm sure you did just fine. _

_Hope the CEC semester is off to a good start. Hear from you soon,_

_Fae."_

Fiyero let out a breath, his eyes skimming Fae's words once more. Replying to this was going to be harder than he'd first imagined.

For starters, he'd sat his midterms at the CEC and they'd forwarded his results to Shiz; and Fiyero had sat awkwardly in Madame Morrible's office as she'd examined them through pursed lips. He'd failed two, and barely passed the other three.

Not to mention how strange it was going to be having to refer to himself in the third person.

But he sat down with pen and paper and resolved to write a reply. Three hours later, the room was littered with crumpled balls of paper as he reviewed the finished product.

"_Hey, Fae._

_Yep, the semester has started here too. As for midterms… well, I did as well as can be expected, I guess. _

_So, Fiyero Tiggular has come to Shiz, huh? And in answer to your question, yes from what I hear he did cause quite a stir when he arrived at the CEC. Especially amongst the girls, from what I heard. _

_And I think it's quite fair to assume he'll be gone in a few months, given his track record. He lasted three and a half months here, which isn't a particularly long stretch of time, is it? So, no, I don't think it's a terrible assumption. _

_There are definitely plenty of rumours about him. When he arrived at the CEC, I'm pretty sure I heard a rumour that he had at least three illegitimate children back in the Vinkus. As far as I know, that's not true though. _

_He was expelled from here because of some drunken incident… something to do with a dragon made of bed sheets. I saw the said dragon, but I can't say for sure that he was involved. Although it seems most probable. _

_So, your friend (by the way, congratulotions on that. Should I feel threatened? :P) reckons she's going to marry her boyfriend? Wow, they must be pretty serious. How long have they been together? Personally, I think the idea of getting married before you've graduated is a bit insane. Isn't college supposed to be about finding yourself, and what you want to do with your life? If you happen to meet the person to spend the rest of your life with there, good for you, but I wouldn't make that decision until after graduation. _

_What's so bad about your friend's boyfriend? I mean, I know you said "there are no words", but really? No words? You always have a lot of words (And I mean that in the best way possible)._

_And now the main point of my letter… I feel I should warn you the consequences for breaking the guy code. If I was to reveal to you the ancient secret that bond the male species together, I'm looking at severe penalties by the rest of my gender. _

_Nah, I'm just kidding. _

_There's no code. (Wait- does "bros before hoes" count?) _

_The way to tell if a guy is into a girl is quite simple really. Um, he pays her attention. Seriously, when it comes to girls, our strategies aren't that sophisticated. Think of us a small child or a puppy; if we like you, we want your attention. And there's a bit of us that thinks that if we take our eyes off you, you'll go find someone else._

_The best advice I can give you with this girl and her guy (and it's nice of you to be concerned about her. Do you make a habit of worrying about the personal lives of people you know but aren't really friends with or have you been holding out on me with these friends?), is to just watch. You'll be able to tell if he's genuinely into her or not. _

_I hope for the sake of this girl though that he is into her- or at least, he's not taking advantage of her insecurities. Sometimes guys can tell that a girl doesn't have the highest opinion of herself, and some might use that to their advantage... well, that's not fair, I'm sure girls could do it to, to other girls or boys. But I know of a few guys who have done just that. But if you're right, and the girl is more in love with the idea of love than the guy, she might come to that realisation herself and end it- which will save her a lot of heartache if he isn't really into her. _

_It's always awkward when one party of a relationship is more into it than the other. Not that I'm an expert on this or anything, but I can say that it's not a nice feeling knowing you're with someone who probably feels more for you than you do for them. _

_Let me know how it all works out. _

_I'd better go- places to go, people to see!_

_Talk soon,_

_Dathien."_

When Elphaba read the reply, she was thoughtful. She _was _worried about Nessa and Boq, although she was glad to see her sister so happy.

And she really didn't think Boq was capable of being able to take advantage of Nessa, at least not in the way Dathien was implying. She just wasn't sure she bought Nessa's reasoning for why Boq had abruptly shown an interest in her.

"He was too shy," she always said when Elphaba tried to ask, blushing slightly as she did.

And Elphaba could see that, she'd watched the Munchkin boy stutter and blush around Galinda since the moment he'd first seen her; but he'd never shown any real interest in Nessa until Fiyero had arrived.

So, she'd have to take Dathien's advice and simply watch until she had more information. And then there was Galinda.

Elphaba had to smile over Dathien's question about whether he should be threatened by her new friendship with Galinda.

It had surprised her as much as anyone, but she'd found after the party at the OzDust that Galinda could be very sweet. And she was obviously crazy about Fiyero- which Elphaba saw as a lack of judgment, but wasn't going to say anything.

But she _had _struggled with words to describe exactly what it was about Fiyero Tiggular that annoyed her so. Dathien was right, she usually wasn't at a loss for words, but this time was different.

It wasn't just that she'd first met him when he'd almost knocked her over and hadn't even cared in the slightest about it. It wasn't just that the whole campus had practically fallen over themselves as soon as he arrived. As she'd said to Nessa, she deemed it utterly ridiculous that such a silly, spoilt, rich boy like Fiyero Tiggular turns up and everyone rushes off to worship him.

But it was the whole sense of him she'd gotten over the mere three weeks he'd been at Shiz. He was rarely in class, and when he was, he wasn't doing much work. He and Galinda were going out a lot, spending their evenings at the OzDust and just "having fun" as he called it. But he didn't seem to have a care in the world- and _that _was what irritated her most. He seemed to be completely self-absorbed and shallow, and she had absolutely no time for him.

She never thought to apply her logic of people being different from how they appear to the Vinkun prince. She'd later realise her mistake.


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. Now that Elphaba and Galinda are friends, I thought it was time Galinda got more involved in the story!**

**And now I'm going to post this and then hide myself away to write 6 programs so I know what I'm teaching all term. Fun, I know. **

**Nine**

When Galinda entered her dorm room one night in February, after returning from a date with Fiyero, she was immediately suspicious as Elphaba hastily shoved the papers she was reading in between the pages of her history textbook and assumed the appearance of taking history notes.

"Elphie, what are you doing?" she asked simply, not beating around the bush.

"Nothing much. You're back early," Elphaba noted, trying to change the subject.

Galinda nodded. "The OzDust was kind of boring tonight. No one was there."

She sat down on her bed and looked over at Elphaba. "So, what have _you _been doing all night?"

Elphaba shrugged nonchalantly. "Studying. Nothing unusual."

Galinda nodded, as though she actually believed that. "Right. And your study notes are top secret because?"

Elphaba smirked. "So my roommate can't copy off me."

Galinda just stared at her until Elphaba sighed and gave in.

"Fine, but you're just going to laugh at me."

"Try me," Galinda replied.

Elphaba took a deep breath. "I'm in the pen pal program," she admitted.

To her credit, Galinda didn't laugh. But she just stared dumbstruck at her friend until she found her voice.

"The pen pal program? As in the one with the CEC?" she demanded.

Elphaba nodded.

Galinda was stunned, she had never imagined Elphaba would enrol in the pen pal program, and never would have guessed she had kept it secret for so long.

She jumped off her bed, and bounced over to Elphaba's bed, wanting answers.

"Who's your pen pal?" she asked excitedly.

"I don't know," Elphaba admitted and Galinda frowned in confusion.

"You don't know? What do you mean, you don't know?"

"Well… we kind of… use fake names."

Galinda's eyes were wide. "What? _Why?"_

Elphaba chuckled and leaned her head back against her pillows. Even now, months later, she wasn't entirely sure why.

"I didn't want to give him my real name… I guess… in case he heard who I was and stopped writing," she confessed softly.

Galinda's ears only picked up on one thing. "Him? It's a boy?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Yes, Glin. From his age, I'd guess he was a junior or a senior. But… he's nice. We've become really good friends, if that makes any sense. Considering we've never met and all."

"What's his name? Well, the name he gave you," Galinda amended. "What do you know about him?"

Elphaba shrugged. "Nothing really. He's going by the name Dathien, he's 23, so that would make him a junior or a senior; and… he's nice."

Galinda was disappointed. "He's _nice?_ You've been writing to him for what, six months? And all you can say is he's "nice"? What do you even talk about?"

Elphaba paused for a moment. "Everything," she said suddenly. "Nothing important. We just… talk."

"I can't believe I didn't know this!" exclaimed Galinda.

"No one knows," Elphaba interjected. "Not even Nessa. I just… I needed someone to talk to. It was an impulse thing, I wasn't planning on signing up… it just happened."

Galinda saw something in her friend and smiled. "You like him, don't you?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Galinda, I don't even know him. We're just friends."

Then she looked at her, panic-stricken. "You won't tell anyone, will you, Galinda? Not even Fiyero- _especially _not Fiyero," she corrected herself.

Galinda hugged her. "Elphie, of _course_ I won't say anything. I can keep a secret!"

Elphaba let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding, feeling relieved. "Thanks, Glin."

Then Galinda had an idea. "You could ask Fiyero if he knows him!" she suggested. "He went to the CEC, he might know him."

Elphaba sighed. "Galinda, he's using a fake name! How would Fiyero be able to tell?"

"Well, you know his age and what year he's most likely in," Galinda said.

"And of course there's only one twenty-three year old at the CEC," Elphaba replied sarcastically.

Galinda shrugged. "Ok, it was just an idea."

"Besides," Elphaba added softly. "I'm OK with not knowing who he is."

Galinda raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

Elphaba nodded. "Yes. It's better this way. We don't reveal any specific details about ourselves, no information that could be linked back to a specific person."

"Nothing at all?" Galinda asked and Elphaba shook her head furiously.

She was so completely paranoid about mentioning anything that could be directly associated with her, at times she felt like she was writing in code.

Galinda frowned. "That sounds…"

Elphaba laughed. "I know, Glin. It's weird. But it's what I'm comfortable with. For the time being anyway."

"It sounds like you have something to hide," Galinda told her. "Like a criminal past or that you killed someone."

It was only after Galinda remembered what Elphaba had told her about her mother's death and she cringed. Elphaba smiled faintly and looked at her hands.

"No criminal past. Just green skin," she chuckled faintly.

Galinda looked at Elphaba sympathetically, wishing she could take back all the cruel things she'd ever said to her roommate. Once you looked past the green, Galinda had discovered Elphaba really was a wonderful person and she felt awful that others hadn't seen that yet.

"How often do you write?" Galinda asked curiously.

Elphaba shrugged. "Depends. Anywhere from three to six letters a week, I guess. It depends on what's going on and how much time we have to write."

Galinda smiled. "Elphie, you do not write that many letters, to a _boy_ no less, unless there's something going on between the two of you. You like him!"

"Galinda, I don't even know him!" Elphaba repeated insistently. "Just drop it, okay? We're just friends."

"Can I read one of his letters?"

"No," Elphaba refused immediately.

"Why not?" Galinda pouted.

"Because they're private," Elphaba replied.

Galinda sighed in disappointment, but she could understand that. "Could you read just a tiny bit of a letter to me?" she asked instead.

"Just like a paragraph or something?"

Elphaba hesitated. "Well, I suppose," she said slowly.

She pulled Dathien's latest letter out from within the pages of her history textbook, and skimmed them, looking for a paragraph suitable for Galinda to hear.

Clearing her throat somewhat awkwardly, she began to read.

"_Do you ever miss being a kid? I was out the other day, and I saw some little kids just playing in the park. And I kind of envied them. No responsibility, no worries. They get to play all day, and get to take naps during the day without being judged. I guess what I envy most is that they believe they can be anything they want to be, and it's so easy for them to be whoever they want to be. A lot of the time I feel like my life's been decided for me, there's so much I don't get a say in. And with that, comes people's expectations, people's hopes. And if you fail, people's disappointments."_

Galinda was impressed. "Wow. Elphie, you guys don't just _talk. _It sounds like you go deep."

"I guess we kind of vent to one another," Elphaba admitted. "It's like he's my sounding board, if that makes sense?"

"It does. He sounds really smart too," Galinda wrinkled her nose slightly. "He's perfect for you."

Elphaba chuckled, blushing. "I don't know about that, but I feel like he understands me," she admitted softly. "Even if he doesn't know who I am."

Galinda moved back on the bed so she could lean against the wall. This was _much _more interesting than a night at the OzDust.

"And do you understand what he means?" she asked, nodding towards the letter in Elphaba's hand.

Elphaba nodded slowly. "I think so. I didn't really have a childhood… I was raising Nessa. I always had responsibility and my father was always disappointed in me. But I used to believe, as a child, that just because I was green, it didn't mean I couldn't achieve anything. I used to believe my future was unlimited. And then I got older, and I realised what it meant to other people, me being the way I am. There have only been a few moments since I've had that feeling again. That feeling of being free, like I can do something with my life… of course it'll never actually happen," she laughed.

"Why not?" Galinda demanded. "You're doing so well in Sorcery, Madame Morrible is writing to _the_ _Wizard_ about you! That's a thrillifying achievement! Didn't she say the Wizard could make you his Grand Vizier?"

"Yes," Elphaba admitted. "But that doesn't mean he will. Or that I even could if he did. My father's made it very clear that I'm only here to care for Nessa. And that won't change when we graduate. My life is caring for Nessa; I could never leave her for the Emerald City to work for the Wizard."

Galinda hadn't known any of this and she was stunned. She'd seen Elphaba in their Sorcery class, and she was both amazed and jealous of her roommate's talent when it came to magic.

"Elphie…"

"It's not important, Glin. I've known for years, and I'm okay with it. At least if I'm caring for Nessa, I'll know she's okay," Elphaba assured her, but Galinda thought it lacked conviction.

"Well, for what it's worth, Elphie, I think you'd be great as the Wizard's Vizier," Galinda said warmly, her tone sincere and Elphaba smiled.

"Thanks, Galinda."

Then the blonde sighed. "That reminds me. I should probably write back to Tena."

Tena, Elphaba remembered was Galinda's pen pal. "How's it going with you two?"

Galinda paused. "Ok, I guess. I mean, we don't have a lot in common, but she's nice. We don't talk about anything as deep as you and _Dathien, _anyway."

Elphaba laughed. "Do you have to say his name like that?" she demanded.

"Like what?" Galinda asked, not understanding.

"Like you're almost putting air quotes around it," Elphaba explained in amusement.

"Well, it's not his real name!" Galinda justified and Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but when you put it in air quotes, it almost sounds like he doesn't exist at all, and he's just a figment of my imagination."

Galinda smirked. "Well…"

Elphaba threw a pillow at her friend. "Go write your letter and let me write mine," she ordered and Galinda giggled as she obeyed, hopping off Elphaba's bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**Ten**

Lau often included notes to Fiyero when he forwarded the letters that Fae had mailed to the CEC. Usually these were just anything of interest that had happened at the CEC, which Fiyero found convenient- because he could include them in his letters to Fae to make it seem as though he really was at the CEC.

He doubted that was what Lau's intentions had been, but he was grateful all the same.

"_So, how is it at Shiz?" _Lau wrote one day in late February. "_Do you think you have any idea who Fae is?"_

Fiyero hadn't really written back to his friend and former roommate as of yet- partly because the little schoolwork he was doing and writing to Fae pretty much used up all of his motivation to write anything; and partly because he wanted to wait until he had enough things to write about.

But finally, he figured he owed Lau a reply, he _was _going to the trouble to get the letters from Fae and mail them to him, after all.

"_Hey, Lau._

_No, I have no clue who Fae is. Shiz is heaps bigger than the CEC and I have absolutely no specific information I can use to find her- except her age. _

_As for Shiz… it's not bad, actually. Lots of pretty girls ;) I'm actually seeing one of them, Miss Galinda Upland. Of the Upper Uplands? She's cute and perky and we have a lot of fun. They've got a pretty swankified place in town to hang out- the OzDust Ballroom. _

_But remember the green girl you told me about? Well, she definitely exists. And Oz is she a piece of work. She's actually Galinda's roommate of all things. Her name's Elphaba Thropp and she's the daughter of the Governor of Munchkinland._

_Did you know he had a green daughter? I'd never heard it before. But she's… well, she's interesting._

_Very brainy- apparently she's top of the year and I think she might actually live in the library. And she's definitely not afraid to speak her mind. I've got a few classes with her, and she's the first to raise her hand to answer any question, and she knows all the answers. _

_And she's the most sarcastic person I've ever met. Seriously, she's fluent in it. It's kind of funny actually, she takes everything so seriously. Way too seriously for my liking. This means, of course, that she kind of hates me. And my whole 'Dancing Through Life' attitude. _

_And don't get me wrong, I'm not too fond of her either. I always get the sense she's got a major stick up her you-know-where. Plus, it's kind of fun to annoy her, haha._

_Anyway, I'll keep you posted, but for now I'd better go- picking up Galinda for a date._

_-Fiyero"_

When Fiyero was ready, he casually strolled over to Galinda's room to pick her up. When he knocked, he heard a muffled exclamation.

"Oh, Sweet Oz! Is he here already? I'm not ready yet! Elphie, can you open the door please?"

There was a long moment and then finally the door was flung open and Fiyero found himself face to face with Elphaba.

"Galinda's not ready yet," she said bluntly and made to shut the door again.

Fiyero hastily stuck his foot in the door. "Whoa. You're just going to leave me standing in the hall? That's kind of rude, Miss Thropp."

"So is knocking people over and not apologising," she retorted and shut the door, pushing his foot out of the way with surprising strength.

Fiyero could only gape at the closed door for a moment before he knocked again. This time, it was a moment longer before the door was opened.

"Yes?" Elphaba asked innocently.

Fiyero glowered at her. "Are all green people this rude or just you?"

She stiffened. "I don't know. Find another green person and let me know."

Once again, Fiyero found himself staring at a closed door.

It was an understatement to say that Elphaba and Fiyero didn't get along.

"_Sometimes I'm amazed by how people can be rude for no real reason," _he wrote to Fae one day. "_There's a certain person I know who (I won't name names, just in case)… is just completely incapable of human emotion, I swear. So self-righteous and I'm yet to see a quality which is deserving of their attitude- unless actually doing their homework is something to be proud about. Can't take a joke, and is so paranoid the world is out to get them. I don't think they stop to think that it's maybe their own fault."_

It was a different sort of animosity than that which had existed between Elphaba and Galinda for the first few months. The two girls had mostly ignored one another and occasionally exchanged harsh words. Fiyero and Elphaba however, seemed to go out of their way to pick arguments with one another. And they both had plenty of ammunition against the other. For Fiyero, it was Elphaba's skin; and Elphaba had plenty to comment on regarding Fiyero's "Dancing through life" attitude.

And through it all, they continued to write to one another unknowingly.

"_It's raining today, and I'm glad it's the weekend because there's nothing better spending a rainy day inside curled up with a good book," _Elphaba wrote to Dathien one day.

"_I usually end up going to back to my all-time favourite book, First Impressions. Have you read it? I know it's renowned as a love story, which is usually the last thing I read, but it's so much more than that. It says so much about Ozian society at the time of writing. And the author is brilliant. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. I guess you could say this book is my guilty pleasure."_

As it turned out, Fiyero _had _read _First Impressions_ (years ago, and mostly to impress a girl who was in love with the main male character, but she didn't need to know that), and had actually enjoyed it.

"_Lucky you," _he wrote back. "_I __wish__ I had time to read, or do anything other than study, really. I'm struggling a bit with one of my subjects- to the point I think I could be in danger of failing. We've just gotten a new teacher for the subject, and I do not really understand what he's going on about. _

_We have a huge essay due in a few weeks and it's worth a lot of our final grade. So, if you don't hear from me much in the next few weeks, that's why."_

Elphaba felt bad for him, she understood how much a teacher could impact how well you did on a subject.

"_Can I help? I don't know what subject it's for, but I'm willing to try? I realise that's not the easiest thing via letters, but if you need help… let me know. I won't be offended if you'd rather not."_

Fiyero thought that was a great idea. The assignment was for his Political Science class. Aside from his teacher, he liked it a lot- it was the one class he had without Elphaba. And at the CEC he had had a mild grasp on the subject- or so he'd thought. But his teacher at Shiz… he had no clue what the man was talking about.

So he took Fae up on her offer, and accepted her help on his assignment. And it turned out, she knew quite a bit about political science.

Of course, if he'd known who he was writing to, that wouldn't have come as a surprise. Elphaba had wanted to take the class, but it clashed with her law class, and she had desperately wanted to take that one.

She was able to recommend books to him that would help with the assignment; explained concepts and theory to him in ways that he actually understood; suggest points of arguments he might be able to use; and even sent him things on real events that he could use as evidence.

Fiyero was blown away by how she was able to explain things. Suddenly, things were clearer to him that he'd ever understood before. And for the first time in a long time, when he handed the assignment in, he was confident he'd finished it to the best of his ability.

Things with Galinda were going great; they were having a good time. Things with Elphaba were not so good.

They just constantly bickered whenever they were in the same room together. It got to the point where Galinda was continually playing mediator between them, which frustrated her. Finally, she put her foot down.

"This has to stop," she said firmly, when Fiyero had once again came to pick up Galinda and had gotten into a fight with Elphaba when he'd questioned if she had a life because he never saw her unless she was reading or studying.

She'd retaliated by demanding what he called a life, when he spent all his time doing anything but studying.

"_You_ are my best friend," she said to Elphaba, and then turned to Fiyero.

"And you are my boyfriend. I am asking you please, to just be _civil _to one another. For my sake, please? I don't want to have to timetable my time with you both to keep you separate from one another. Deal?"

Elphaba sighed. "Ok, Glin. I can be civil," she agreed.

Fiyero seemed more hesitant, but finally gave in to Galinda's pleading looks. "OK," he acceded.

Galinda was pleased. She knew it wouldn't be as simple as it seemed, but she also knew she could count on Elphaba to keep her word. Elphaba always did.

**AN. If you haven't read my fic _Falling In, _"First Impressions" is the Ozian equivalent of "Pride and Prejudice". Yep, I brought it back :P (plus, P&P is mentioned a little in the 'You've Got Mail' movie)**


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. I think you guys will be very happy with me when you finish reading this chapter!**

**Eleven**

"Good morning!"

Fiyero jerked his head up, blinking blearily.

It wasn't even eight am yet, yet Fiyero was here, in class. Whether he was awake or not was a different story.

Galinda had just bounced into the empty seat next to him, looking annoyingly perky for this time of morning.

"Hey, Glin," he yawned, as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly. "Why are you so cheery this morning?" he asked suspiciously.

Galinda giggled. "Oh, Fiyero, don't be silly! Don't you realise what today is?"

Fiyero stalled and racked his brain. "Uh, Tuesday?"

She giggled again. "_No! _It's exactly two months today that you arrived at Shiz! Dearest, it's our anniversary!"

Fiyero could only gape at her. Two _months? _He had been with Galinda for two months?

But Galinda was oblivious to his shocked expression.

"So, I was _thinking," _she said. "That this weekend, either Friday or Saturday night, but _preferably _Saturday so I have more time to prepare instead of having to squeeze it in after classes, we could go out to celebrate? You know, have dinner and really _talk _about our future."

Fiyero almost choked. Future? She thought they had a future? He thought they'd just been having fun and spending time together, it wasn't anything serious. Was it?

"Er… Glin, I- I, er," he stammered, not sure what to say.

But she merely spoke over him, listing ideas as to what they could do to celebrate and gift ideas.

Fiyero was wide awake now. He hadn't been keeping track of the time, or really thought about it at all. But now…

Yes, Galinda was lovely and perfect and they had a nice time together, but Fiyero had no deep feelings for her. Nothing that was able to justify a discussion of their future.

Fiyero had had a few relationships before, although he mostly preferred to remain free and not tied down. The longest he'd ever been with a girl before was a month and a half. Two months almost seemed like a lifetime to him. And now he felt a sensation in his gut, more than a twinge of panic.

He knew his parents would be thrillified if he settled down and actually formed a steady, meaningful relationship with someone; someone who could potentially be his wife and the future queen of the Vinkus.

But was that person Galinda?

Speaking of, she was still chirping happily next to him about how exciting it was. Suddenly, she cut herself off.

"Oh, there's Elphie! _Elphie!_ Over here!" she waved towards her roommate.

Fiyero said nothing, but he wasn't too keen on sitting with Elphaba in class. Judging by the look on her face, she wasn't too thrillified with the idea either, but she nevertheless came over and sat on Galinda's other side.

They were both mindful of Galinda's plea for her best friend and boyfriend to at least be civil to one another.

"Hi, Glin," she said patiently as she sat down, because it wasn't like Galinda hadn't seen her only ten minutes ago.

"I'm surprised to see you here," she said to Fiyero.

"Why is that?" he retorted. "You say that like I never come to class."

"Not on days ending in 'y'," Elphaba muttered under her breath. "I thought you were nocturnal. Don't you have some kind of law against being up before nine?"

"It's before eight, actually," Fiyero grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.

She didn't bother saying anything else, merely facing the front and waiting for the lesson to begin.

Fiyero couldn't concentrate- not that he ever did. He couldn't stop thinking about Galinda- and not in the usual way he was usually thinking of Galinda.

Their future… she wanted to talk about their future, a subject Fiyero had never thought about in the slightest. But he'd have to have something to say, wouldn't he?

But Fiyero didn't have the slightest idea how to decide what that something would be.

When class was over, Galinda turned to him.

"Do you want to go get a coffee, dearest?" she asked him.

Fiyero smiled. "Raincheck? I've got something I have to do."

She looked disappointed for a moment, but then beamed at him. "Of course."

Elphaba left without looking at him, let alone speaking to him, not that Fiyero minded.

He was headed back to his room, but decided on a whim to swing past the administration building and see if there was any mail for him.

There was, from Lau, and the thickness of it told Fiyero there would be at least two letters from Fae inside when he opened it.

Fiyero was still lost in thought when he finally reached his room, which wasn't something he made a particular habit of. But Galinda was obviously under the impression he was as serious about their relationship as she was, and Fiyero wasn't sure that was the case.

Like he said, his parents would be thrillified about him settling down, and he suspected they'd approve of Galinda. But was that enough?

When Fiyero had ever thought about marriage (which granted, wasn't often) he'd always imagined a marriage like his parents had. As much as he was seemingly against marriage or relationships, he'd always admired his parents' relationship. Ibrahim and Kasmira were both highly intelligent people, and although they didn't agree on everything, they never let their disagreements affect their love for one another.

Fiyero had sat at the dinner table many times over the years as his parent's debated one issue or another, whether it be politics, literature or even moral or ethical issues. Ibrahim was happy to let his wife offer her opinions on matters concerning the kingdom, and Kasmira wasn't afraid to speak up if she thought Ibrahim was making the wrong decision.

Most of all, they had this deep connection with one another. At times it amazed Fiyero, and at times it thoroughly irritated him how his parents could have a whole conversation without actually talking to one another (usually it seemed, concerning him and who was going to lecture him this time or what his punishment should be). But even when they disagreed, they had the same values and respected and supported one another.

It was that connection Fiyero had most envisioned in his own future wife- whoever she may be, whenever that may occur- but definitely not for several years. And he didn't feel anything like that with Galinda. The closest he'd ever felt to feeling that… was when he read Fae's letters, he realised.

What did that mean? They'd made no secret of the fact they both felt like the other understood them when no one else did… but they'd never actually met. Here they were, on the same campus (albeit unbeknownst to her) and they'd never met. They'd never even talked about meeting, although they'd been writing to one another for months.

Fiyero remembered the letters in his bag from Fae, and drew them out quickly. Maybe he was being too hasty, maybe the idea of being in a real relationship had just shocked him and he was reading too much into his friendship with Fae.

But as he read her words, he was surer of it than ever. There was nothing deep or too serious in her letters, it was just some light conversation, and some funny stories about what was happening at Shiz- which although Fiyero knew about them already (being at Shiz, obviously), through her words he was laughing as though hearing about them for the first time.

He immediately went to reply, as he did more often than not these days, and suddenly paused. Then, before he could change his mind, he started writing.

"_Fae-_

_I'm going to be near Shiz next weekend, and I was wondering if you wanted to meet? _

_I know what you're going to say, that it sounds crazy and impulsive, especially when we haven't even exchanged our real names; but hear me out. _

_Yes, it's impulsive, but you signed up for this program on a whim didn't you? And look how well that's worked out!_

_Let me know as soon as you can. I'll meet you wherever is good for you, just let me know._

_-Dathien."_

It was the shortest letter he'd ever written to her, but now that the idea was in his head, he couldn't let it go.

Now, he could finally learn who Fae was. And maybe that would help him work out his feelings for Galinda and what to do about that. He could stall for this weekend, couldn't he? He'd take Galinda out, like she wanted, but he'd try and hold off the talk about their future for a bit longer.

Even Fiyero didn't realise just how much was riding on Fae's reply to his note.

* * *

Needless to say, when Elphaba got Dathien's note, she was surprised and panicked. He wanted to meet?

He was right, she thought it was crazy and impulsive, and she was majorly freaking out.

She would have written back immediately and either made up some excuse as to why next weekend was bad for her, or to flat out refuse (she hadn't quite decided which yet); except for the fact Galinda saw her not-so-hidden expression of panic, and demanded answers.

Elphaba, sitting on her bed, looked up at her roommate with fearful eyes.

"He wants to meet."

Galinda frowned. "Who does?"

"Dathien. He… he's going to be in the area next weekend… and he wants to meet."

Galinda's frown vanished and her features softened. "Really? That is so romantic!"

Startled, Elphaba looked at her incredulously. "_Romantic?_ Are you kidding me, Galinda?"

"Don't you want to meet him?" Galinda demanded.

Elphaba hesitated. "I don't know… maybe. That's not the point, Galinda. He shouldn't meet me," she said firmly.

Galinda placed her hands on her hips. "Why not?"

"You know perfectly well why," Elphaba retorted. "I'm _green, _Galinda."

"I'm _aware, _Elphaba," Galinda replied in the same tone as her friend. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't meet."

Elphaba shook her head resolutely. "I'm not doing it. I'll write back and say I can't make it."

"And what excuse will you give?" Galinda asked pointedly.

Elphaba shrugged. "I don't know… I'll say I'm going home for the weekend or something. He won't know that it's not true."

Galinda thought that was a dumb idea, and didn't hesitate to say so.

"Elphie, you should go. What are you so afraid of?"

Elphaba sighed. "We've talked about me before. 'The Green Girl'. If I show up, he'll know who I am and he'll want to know why I lied."

"Why did you lie?" Galinda asked gently, sitting down beside her friend.

Elphaba shrugged. "I was worried that if I said it was me, he'd stop writing. He was my only friend, Glin."

Galinda hugged her tightly. "Elphie, if he's really your friend, he won't mind when he learns the truth. Besides, he's using a fake name too, isn't he? What makes you think he has nothing to hide?"

Elphaba was still hesitant. "I don't know…"

"Just meet him for coffee," Galinda advised. "Half an hour, and see what happens. And if he doesn't want to know you when he learns about your skin, well… maybe he was never really your friend."

Elphaba sighed and protested, but ultimately gave in.

"Fine," she grumbled and wrote back to Dathien as requested.

"_That sounds fine. There's a coffee shop on campus- The Wilted Rose. I'll meet you there next Friday night at seven._

_I'll be the one with a book. _

_-Fae."_

When Fiyero got the note back and saw her answer, he was surprised by the wave of relief he felt.

He and Fae were going to meet; he would finally learn who she was.

And quite frankly, he was terrified about that.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. I almost feel bad posting this, because your reviews for the last chapter were so happy! But then, I don't, because your reactions make me laugh. Sorry!**

**Twelve**

The next week seemed to go by so slowly for Fiyero. He took Galinda to dinner that weekend, as planned, and managed to placate her desire for them to talk about their future with a vague hint about her perhaps meeting his parents over the summer.

And she had taken that (as he had known she would) as a hopeful sign, and combined with a small gift, she'd been satisfied.

But all Fiyero could focus on was that coming Friday night, when he and Fae met. It was so bad by Thursday that he literally walked into Boq, knocking the Munchkin boy to the ground.

"Sorry, Boq," he apologised, helping him to his feet. "My head's all over the place."

"I've noticed. What's going on?" Boq asked.

Fiyero shook his head. "It's nothing."

Boq rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Fiyero, you've been totally out of it all week. What's up? Nothing's wrong, is it? With you and Miss Galinda, I mean."

Fiyero had to supress a smile at the note of hope that crept into Boq's voice at the thought of that. He still hadn't lost his crush on Galinda, although he was still dating Nessarose (if dating was the right word).

He hesitated before replying, but noted the alternative to telling Boq was telling Galinda, and he didn't think she'd take the idea of him going to meet another girl well- even if it was merely platonic.

So, he sighed and then admitted. "No, everything's fine. But… I'm- I'm meeting someone tomorrow night and I'm a bit nervous."

Boq actually laughed. "You? Nervous?"

The idea that the great Fiyero Tiggular was actually nervous about something, when he always seemed so confident, was laughable.

Then Boq realised what Fiyero had said. "You're meeting someone? Who? A girl?"

"Yes," Fiyero nodded.

Boq gaped at him. "But… Galinda-"

Fiyero hastily intervened. "No! Boq, it's not a _date. _She's… she's my pen pal," he confessed in a low voice, making sure no one was in ear shot.

Boq frowned. "Pen pal?"

Fiyero nodded slowly. "That pen pal program? With the CEC?"

Boq's eyes widened. "You're in the Pen Pal program?" he exclaimed.

"Ssshhh!" Fiyero said furiously, looking around in alarm. "Yes, alright? I got into trouble and the Headmaster made me sign up."

"Who's your pen pal?"

Fiyero grimaced. All he had was a fake name- not exactly a lot to go on.

"Uh, Fae? She's a sophomore, I think."

Boq thought about it, but then shook his head. "I don't think I know her. So, you're only meeting her now? You've been here for months!"

"She doesn't know I'm here," Fiyero admitted.

Boq was still completely bewildered. "How is _that _possible?"

"Well, we use fake names," Fiyero explained.

That made a lot more sense to Boq. "Oh. But you're nervous about meeting her? Why?"

Fiyero wasn't exactly sure. "We're friends. We get along really well. I don't want that to change because I'm a prince."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Boq assured him.

He made to leave, but then Fiyero grabbed his arm, an idea sparking in his head.

"You could come with me!"

Boq looked alarmed. "What? _Why? _Why would I do that?"

"Just to see if she's likely to be one of those… you know, stalker… crazy type girls," Fiyero explained.

He'd come across more than a few of those in his time.

Boq looked at him through narrowed eyes. "What's in it for me?" he demanded.

Fiyero only had to think about it for a moment before he had the thing that was sure to get Boq to agree.

"I'll make sure Galinda realises your name is Boq, not 'Bick'?" he offered.

Boq's face lit up. "Deal. What time?"

Fiyero grinned.

So, the next night, just after seven, Fiyero met Boq outside the boys' dormitory, as planned. He'd told Galinda he was hanging out with his "good new friend Boq" which served the dual purpose of both fulfilling Fiyero's end of their bargain, and giving him an alibi.

Fiyero was more nervous than ever, and he was wondering if this was a good idea anymore.

"_Why_ am I doing this?" he asked Boq as they headed over to the _Wilted Rose. _"Is this a really dumb idea? I mean, we've been writing for months now, meeting her isn't going to change anything, right? Why am I so compelled to meet her?"

Boq was alarmed; he'd never seen or imagined Fiyero to be this frantic over meeting a girl.

"Fiyero, you're friends with this girl, right? Well, sometimes, it's nice to know what your friends look like. Besides, you said you're only staying for a cup of coffee anyway, right?"

"Right," Fiyero agreed uncertainly.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, but as they came within sight of the café door, Fiyero halted in his tracks. Checking his watch, he saw it was already quarter past seven- he was fifteen minutes late.

"Fiyero?" Boq asked, not sure what was going on in the prince's mind.

Fiyero moaned and sat down on a bench down the road from the café.

"This girl… she's the most amazing person I've ever been in contact with," he admitted quietly. "She gets me… more than anyone ever has in my entire life. And I… I don't think I realised until now how much I depend on her letters. Every time I see her _handwriting_, it makes me happy; my day gets so much better when she writes to me. What if we meet… and she's horrendible? Or we don't have as much in common as it seems on paper?"

"Or what if she thinks _you're _horrendible?" Boq replied, which Fiyero hadn't thought of.

Fiyero looked at the Munchkin pleadingly. "Can you just go look through the window? See if you can see her and if you recognise her? You know more people than I do here. Please, Boq?"

Boq hesitated, and then sighed heavily. "Fine," he agreed.

Fiyero waited anxiously as Boq covered the short distance between Fiyero's bench and the café's windows.

"What am I looking for again?" he called back.

"A girl with a book!" Fiyero replied, hoping he'd remembered that detail right from Fae's letter. "Do you see her?"

"A _novel_ book or a _text_ book?"

Fiyero made a spluttering noise. "Why would it be a textbook?" he demanded.

Boq shrugged innocently. "I don't know! Maybe she thought she'd get some studying in whilst she was waiting for you!"

"Do you see a girl with a textbook?" Fiyero asked, wondering if maybe Fae _had _meant a textbook.

"No."

"_Then what does it matter?" _Fiyero cried in exasperation, about ready to explode.

"I guess it doesn't," Boq muttered and continued looking through the window, trying not to look psychotic as he did so.

Then he let out an "Er…" and turned to Fiyero awkwardly.

"I can only see one girl in there with a book," he said slowly.

Fiyero's heart jumped. She was there and waiting for him!

"OK, do you know her?" he demanded.

"Yes…" Boq said slowly.

"_And?" _Fiyero prodded impatiently.

"Um, how are you and Elphaba getting along these days?" Boq asked instead.

Fiyero thought that was a bizarre question.

"We tolerate one another… kind of… for Galinda's sake. Why? What's she got to do with anything?"

Boq turned to Fiyero and nodded towards the window. "It's Elphaba."

Fiyero gaped. "What? It can't be!"

He jumped up and headed over to see for himself. Sure enough, there was Elphaba Thropp, sitting alone at a back table, reading a book and sipping a mug of something.

Fiyero wasn't willing to accept the truth yet, however. "Maybe it's not her. Elphaba reads all the time, it could be a coincidence and Fae just is late!"

Boq stared at him pointedly, until Fiyero sighed and gave in.

"Yeah, ok," he agreed. "What do I do now?"

Boq was surprised. "What do you mean? I thought you wanted to meet her?"

"And now I have," Fiyero replied. "I know who she is… that's all I needed to know."

"So, you're just going to leave? You're not going to even go inside?"

"No," Fiyero said resolutely.

He couldn't now. All that stuff he'd written to her… he'd asked her about the rumoured green girl at Shiz months ago, and she'd never even gave the slightest inclination it was her that they were talking about!

He'd written to her about _her, _for Oz's sake, about what a pain she was and how she was so self-righteous and uptight and how had he put it? _"Incapable of human emotion." _

And now Boq thought he should waltz in and say "Hi, I'm Dathien. I'm the one you've actually been writing to for months?"

A likely story.

He'd shared incredibly personal things with her (although admittedly no specifics), and if he walked in there now and confessed to her, she'd probably laugh in his face. She truly believed that he was the playboy, carefree, irresponsible prince he was reputed to be.

"She's going to think you stood her up," Boq pointed out unnecessarily.

"Well, she'd be right, as she thinks she always is, because that's exactly what I'm doing. I'll see you later, Boq. Thanks for tonight."

And with that, he turned and walked away.

Boq stood there for a moment, feeling slightly bad for Elphaba, although it wasn't exactly like they were friends, but he _was_ kind of dating her sister. And then he turned and headed towards Shiz.

He didn't see Fiyero stop in his tracks as though fighting with himself, before groaning aloud and grudgingly heading back towards the _Wilted Rose, _this time opening the door and stepping inside.

Fiyero made a big show of casually looking around, ordering a coffee, and feigning surprise when Elphaba happened to look up and they accidentally made eye contact.

With his coffee in hand, he headed over to her table, much to her surprise he guessed, given the way that she immediately froze and ducked her head, pretending to be completely absorbed in her book.

"Hey, Elphie. Fancy seeing you here. I thought you lived in the library," he said, seating himself opposite her.

"What do you want, Tiggular?" she asked stiffly, her posture rigid.

Fiyero shrugged. "Nothing. Came for a coffee, noticed you had an empty seat. The place is kind of full tonight. I didn't think you'd mind sharing."

Elphaba lifted her gaze from her book incredulously, and looked pointedly around at the half a dozen empty tables she could see.

"Oh, this place is jumping," she agreed, her tone laced heavy with sarcasm. "Have you got nothing better to do on a Friday night than annoy me?"

"Nope," Fiyero said cheerfully, popping the 'p'.

"Why aren't you out at the OzDust or something?" she demanded.

"Why aren't you buried in the library somewhere? Where's Galinda?" he countered.

Elphaba grimaced. "She's having a girls' night in our room."

Fiyero raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression _you _were a girl. Sorry, my mistake."

She glowered at him, and Fiyero wondered how he could have possibly thought that "Fae" understood him.

"Can you please leave?" she asked through gritted teeth. "I'm kind of busy here."

"What are you reading?" Fiyero asked, leaning over to see. "_First Impressions? _Didn't really take you for the romance novel type."

"I'm surprised you recognise a book, let alone one without pictures," Elphaba retorted coldly. "And _First Impressions _is more than a romance novel. It's a social commentary of the period it was written in and is one of the most complex and sophisticated novels ever published in Oz. Not that you'd recognise great literature if it knocked you over- oh no, wait, you'd be the one knocking people over, wouldn't you?"

Fiyero narrowed his eyes. "Are you _still_ on about that? First of all, it's not like _I _was driving; Secondly, it was an accident and you _know _that; and thirdly, you didn't even fall over! You just lost your footing and dropped a few books! Get over it! Are you the type to harp on about a paper cut too?"

Elphaba scoffed. "It's not a matter about whether I was hurt or not, it's about your complete lack of consideration for other people! So, because I wasn't hurt, it's not a big deal? Because I was only _almost _knocked over? And if someone _had _been hurt? Would you even care? Or only if they were female with large breasts?"

"Hey, the size of their breasts is not a contributing factor to my level of concern if someone was injured," Fiyero replied airily, and her glare intensified.

"And just FYI," he added casually. "It might interest you to know that I've read _First Impressions, _and I agree, it's a classic."

Elphaba's eyebrow rose. "_You've_ read _First Impressions?"_

"Sure," Fiyero nodded. "It's pretty good. As far as books go, I mean. Even if there are no pictures," he grinned.

She seemed sceptical, and Fiyero ignored the voice in his head that suggested she had a right to do so.

"Although, I get why _normal_ girls like it," he continued in an effort to drown the voice out. It started screaming that he was about to say something he'd regret, but he kept talking anyway.

"I mean the whole 'true soul mates overcoming their differences and living happily ever after' thing. But why does it appeal to _you?"_

If looks could kill, Fiyero would be flat on the floor like a squashed bug.

Elphaba slammed the book shut, her green fingers clenched around the spine so tightly they went white.

"I realise I'm not 'normal'," she said, using air quotes around that word with the hand not clenching her book. "But there's surprisingly little literature targeted for _green _people. And although I don't claim to be a romantic, I shockingly agree with the morals of the book. That people are not what they always appear to be, that people have layers; that people's actions speak to who they are more than their words."

Her voice was trembling slightly, and Fiyero pretended not to notice.

"_You," _she continued. "Are the epitome that faults this entire belief system. I'm yet to see a shred of evidence to even suggest that you have another side of you, that you are anything more than a shallow, self-absorbed playboy prince, accustomed to getting your own way and having to accept no responsibility whatsoever."

Fiyero was stung. "And you know me so well," he said sarcastically. "We're practically bosom buddies."

He didn't like the way she looked at him. "Feel free to prove me wrong."

Fiyero opened his mouth. He could have told her everything then, it was the perfect moment. About Dathien, the letters, how he meant every word he'd ever written to her and how well she understood him. The connection he felt with her through their words.

But he said nothing.

Instead, he got up and left the café without saying anything. He wouldn't admit he was hurt because he wanted her to be able to see and realise that he was her pen pal, that he was different, that he wasn't everything she'd just described and labelled him as.

And he didn't purposefully even think of how hurt she would be to sit there alone until closing time, thinking that Dathien had not come.

The idea she would have a different thought never crossed his mind at all.


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. Sorry guys! I know you're all dying for Elphaba and Fiyero to meet, but well... this is where things get interesting! **

**And a Happy birthday to babygumm07, who is a great reviewer and twitter friend! Hope you have a great day!**

**Thirteen**

Galinda had waited up impatiently for Elphaba to return once Milla, Shen-Shen and Pfannee had left that night, wanting to hear all about who Dathien was and what he was like.

As the hours went by, she had taken that as a hopeful sign. She knew the _Wilted Rose _closed at eleven, and sure enough, Elphaba walked in the door at twenty past eleven.

Galinda jumped up eagerly. "So, how did it go?"

Elphaba didn't look at her, just walked directly to her bed, and grabbed her nightgown from under her pillow to get ready for bed.

"It didn't," she said flatly, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

Galinda frowned, not understanding. She got out of bed, and went to stand at the bathroom door.

"What do you mean?" she called through the door.

"He never showed up, Galinda," came the reply after a long moment.

Galinda gasped. "He _what?"_

Elphaba opened the door, already changed and brushed past Galinda. She didn't say anything. There was nothing to say.

"But _why?" _Galinda gasped.

Elphaba snorted. "He didn't exactly leave a note Galinda. He just didn't show."

Galinda felt crushed. Ever since Elphaba had first told her about Dathien, the more she thought about it, the more romantic it seemed.

She had a gut feeling that, no matter what Elphaba said, she liked Dathien; and in Galinda's mind, any boy who was willing to write to a girl for months _definitely _had romantic feelings for her. She had imagined this evening as the start of a beautiful, loving relationship for Elphaba and Dathien… or whatever his real name was.

And now at the news he hadn't shown up, Galinda's vision was swept away. But that didn't mean she was giving up on the idea completely.

"I'm sure he has a good reason," she insisted, following Elphaba over to her bed.

"Please, I know exactly why he didn't show up," Elphaba replied.

Galinda paused. "What?"

"It's obvious isn't he? He came in, saw me and left," Elphaba said quietly.

Galinda gaped. "No! Elphie, I'm sure that's not it!"

"What other explanation is there, Galinda?" Elphaba snapped.

She was tired, she felt humiliated and stupid, and her conversation with Fiyero hadn't helped in the slightest.

"I'm going to sleep. Good night."

Galinda let her friend turn off the light and roll away from her, facing the wall; but that didn't mean she was going to let the subject drop.

The blonde spent the whole time before falling asleep making a mental list of reasons why Dathien might have been detained from meeting Elphaba; and spent all of Saturday morning when she woke up transferring that list to paper, and making a few additions.

Elphaba was in the library all morning studying, but the girls had agreed earlier to meet for lunch. So when Galinda arrived, she sat down gracefully next to her friend in the cafeteria, and handed her the list.

"Here."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"It's a list of very possible reasons why Dathien didn't show up last night," Galinda replied.

Elphaba cringed; clearly Galinda had not noticed she was sitting with Nessarose and Boq at the table. Sure enough,

"Who's Dathien, Elphaba?" Nessarose asked her sister.

Elphaba shot Galinda a look, but sighed. "He's… my pen pal. We were supposed to meet last night, but he didn't show. Galinda thinks he must have had a good reason."

Nessa was stunned. "Pen pal? From the CEC? I didn't know you signed up for that!"

"It was a last minute thing, Nessa. It's no big deal," Elphaba answered.

Galinda felt bad about letting it slip to Nessa and Boq, but focused on the list.

"Elphie, just look at the list. Please?"

Elphaba sighed, and obediently looked at the list. As she began to read, a frown appeared on her face.

"He was in a carriage accident; his hotel caught fire; he was hit by a carriage between his hotel and the _Wilted Rose; _there was a fire at the CEC and he was stuck inside; he was attacked and killed on the Yellow Brick Road… Galinda, are there any reasons on this list that don't involve him being _dead?"_

"Yes! Look, right there."

Elphaba continued reading aloud.

"He caught a deadly disease and is in quarantine; he got sick and had to be taken to hospital; he's in a coma; he's in jail; he was expelled and is now wandering the streets of Oz; one of his parents got sick and he had to go home to care for them; there was a death in the family; he was summoned to see the Wizard; he offended a Wicked Witch… seriously Galinda? A Wicked witch? And what did she do that would prevent him from showing up last night?"

Boq had initially felt guilty, knowing the truth and saying nothing. But now he couldn't resist chiming in.

"Maybe she turned him into a scarecrow, and now he's stuck up on a pole in the middle of a cornfield somewhere," he offered.

Elphaba glared at him. "_Don't _encourage her, Boq."

"My point _is_, Elphie," Galinda continued, smiling at Boq. "Is that _anything _could have happened. You shouldn't assume the worse."

Elphaba spluttered. "Galinda, you've got half a dozen scenarios here where he's _dead. _How is _that_ not assuming the worse? All I did was suggest a reason that is highly plausible and you know it."

"What do you think happened, Fabala?" Nessa asked.

"She thinks he came, saw her skin and left," Galinda informed her.

Nessa's eyes widened. "Oh!"

But that was all she said. She couldn't protest the idea, because they both knew it was more than likely.

Boq just felt the need to clarify something. "So, you've been writing to him all this time, and he didn't know you're green?"

"No," Elphaba replied reluctantly, not very comfortable with sharing the details.

"Boq, you're a guy," Galinda turned to him, and Boq's heart swelled as she pronounced his name correctly for the first time ever. "Why do _you _think he didn't show?"

Boq wasn't sure what to say… not least because he knew both "Dathien's" identity and the reason he didn't show.

"Oh… er… I don't know. It could be any reason, really. But it was probably… you know… something came up," he stammered uneasily.

Galinda wasn't satisfied with that admittedly vague answer. "I'll ask Fiyero when I see him next," she said decidedly.

"_No!" _Elphaba protested loudly and immediately. The last thing she wanted was Fiyero Tiggular knowing why she had been at _the Wilted Rose_ last night, and that she had been stood up.

"Galinda, don't say anything to him, _please," _she almost begged and Galinda agreed, although she was confusified why Elphaba was so against the idea.

"Can we just please forget about this?" Elphaba asked them all, and they agreed.

The following Friday, when Elphaba checked the mail, there was a letter there from Dathien. Elphaba hesitated before opening it, but decided at least this way she'd know the truth.

The note inside was short and apologetic.

"_Dear Fae,_

_I'm so sorry about Friday night. I know there's really no excuse I can give, but please believe how sorry I am. _

_I was all set to leave for Shiz on Friday afternoon, when something came up last minute that I couldn't get out of. And of course, by that stage, it was too late to get word to you. _

_I really hope you can forgive me. _

_-Dathien."_

Fiyero had wrestled with himself for a long time what to do over the matter. Did he continue the charade? Confess all?

Over the weekend, he'd decided that he wasn't going to write to her. That was it, he was done. There would be no more letters; he just couldn't do it anymore, now knowing just who he was writing to.

He'd collected all the letters she'd sent him so far, with every intention of tearing them up, or burning them, throwing them away and pretending they'd never existed.

But then, for some reason, he'd started re-reading one, and then he'd read all the others, and he missed her. He missed this Elphaba… Fae, he supposed. This was an Elphaba he'd never even imagined existed.

It was easy now, to read her words, and pick up references to Galinda (before they were friends) and Nessarose; and in her recent letters, even references about him. So much made sense now, knowing it was Elphaba gave her words a whole new meaning. And it was strange, reading them and realising just how wrong so many of his assumptions about Fae had been wrong.

And before Fiyero knew it, he was sitting down to write to her and wondering just how he was going to explain not showing up… even though he technically had. He knew it would have to be good- he'd always thought Fae was smart, and he _knew _Elphaba was smart (he did _not _add 'ass' onto the end of that thought), and figured she'd be able to spot an obvious lie immediately- even just written.

So, he kept it simple, vague and apologetic- and he was almost sure he was being sincere about that.

He didn't know what he was going to do now. His opinion of Elphaba hadn't changed- she was a pain, way too uptight and too sarcastic for her own good. But Fae… he still wasn't sure what his feelings for her were. Or how they'd affect his feelings for Elphaba.

He was resolved to continue to think of Fae and Elphaba separate, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to.


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. Sorry it's a bit later than usual guys. I had exam supervision this morning.**

**OK, so at the moment I'm having a _Gilmore Girls _marathon (something I haven't done since I was writing _Far Longer than forever- _and long time readers will know how _that _turned out (read chapters 9 and 10 of that fic if you're curious but don't remember)). And I'm enjoying it, and it's actually giving me a few ideas but, I was really struck by similarities between two people. Two words, guys- Fiyero. Logan. Anyone or is that just me?**

**Also- today is ONE WEEK exactly until my birthday! I'll be 22. Yay!**

**Fourteen**

How Elphaba found herself at the OzDust the Friday night after her failed meeting with Dathien, she didn't know.

Yet here she was, sitting at a table with Galinda, Fiyero, Milla, Shen-Shen, Pfannee and any other student who was close enough to the top of the social hierarchy to merit an invitation. Even being Galinda's roommate and best friend, Elphaba was still not in that circle, so she felt distinctly awkward.

No-one, save for Galinda spoke to her, and given Galinda was the centre of the universe at that table, with everyone trying to engage her in conversation; that meant that Elphaba was spending a significant amount of time in silence.

Fiyero was ignoring her, which although Elphaba wasn't complaining about that (and she was used to that from her father), was odd for the Vinkun prince. He'd been like that all week, now that she came to think about it.

Recalling their "conversation" at the _Wilted Rose _the week before, Elphaba couldn't blame him. As little time as she had for Fiyero, she knew there was no excuse for what she'd said to him.

She'd been humiliated and had felt like a complete idiot sitting there waiting for Dathien to arrive, and well… her skin was always a sore point with her. She'd felt hurt when he'd said she wasn't "normal" (something she knew all too well herself), and before she could check herself, everything she'd been thinking about Fiyero since the first time she'd met him had spilled out.

And maybe it had been deserved, and Elphaba could certainly think of more cruel things she could have said or done- and had said to others in the past, but she still felt bad. She and Fiyero had promised Galinda they'd try and be civil to one another, and Elphaba doubted whether anything resembling civility could be used to describe what had happened.

But she was heartily wishing that she'd been able to think of something to get out of coming to the OzDust tonight. Galinda had refused to accept studying or homework as a good enough reason, and insisted she join them.

"Why? So everyone can stare at me, and not talk to me? I can do that any time," Elphaba had retorted, but Galinda had begged until her roommate gave in.

Apparently there was some band playing at the OzDust that night, and Galinda was half in love with the drummer.

"And how does Fiyero feel about that?" Elphaba asked dryly.

Galinda giggled. "You're so funny, Elphie!"

And then she'd gone on to talk about why Elphaba _had _to come, without explaining what was so funny, which left Elphaba amusedly bewildered.

Fortunately, Elphaba had won the battle against a makeover in return, and had been allowed to choose her own wardrobe for the event.

Yet here she was, having food and drinks as they waited for the band to arrive, being pointedly ignored by the majority of the table. Galinda sent encouraging smiles every time she caught her friend's eye, but found it difficult to bring Elphaba into the conversation.

"I'm going to get a drink," Elphaba said to no-one in particular and stood up.

"I'll come with you, Elphie," Galinda said quickly, jumping to her feet.

"I can get you a drink, Galinda," Fiyero offered, half-rising from his seat, but she waved him down.

"Thanks plenty, dearest, but I'm fine," she beamed and fell into step with Elphaba as they headed to the bar.

"Isn't he just _so _thoughtful that way?" she giggled.

"Oh, he's a peach," Elphaba replied, managing to tone down the sarcasm in her voice so that Galinda missed it.

"Are you having fun, Elphie?" Galinda asked and Elphaba sighed.

"Galinda, I told you this was pointless. I'm just sitting there. I can do that alone in our room."

"Social interaction is good for you," Galinda insisted.

"Someone has to actually talk to me before it can be classed as 'interaction', I think," Elphaba pointed out.

Galinda winced. "I'm sorry, Elphie. I really am trying…" she began, but Elphaba cut her off.

"It's not your fault, Glin. You're just so popular everyone wants to talk to you," she said with a smile, feeling bad about the guilt that flashed across her friend's face. "And you can't make them talk to me."

Galinda frowned slightly as Elphaba ordered their drinks. "I thought Fiyero might at least talk to you. You _are _getting along, aren't you?"

Elphaba hesitated. She hadn't said anything to Galinda about her and Fiyero having met at the café the week before, and she knew Fiyero hadn't. Otherwise, Galinda would want to talk to Elphaba about it.

"I think we're both living by a simple rule when in each other's company," she answered finally.

"What rule is that?" Galinda asked.

Elphaba smiled faintly. "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. That just happens to result in a lot of silent moments for us."

Galinda didn't know what to say. "Oh."

"Isn't silence better than us fighting?" Elphaba asked and Galinda considered that.

"True," she admitted.

When they'd first arrived at the OzDust, found a table and sat down, Elphaba had not-so-subtly been pushed to the other end. Fiyero had taken one seat next to Galinda, of course, and Pfannee had claimed the chair on the blonde's other side quicker than Elphaba could blink.

But in the girls' absence, Pfannee had moved a chair down to admire the new bracelet that adorned Milla's hand. And as quickly and discreetly as possible, Galinda had seated Elphaba in her own chair before taking the seat Pfannee had vacated.

It was so fast Elphaba couldn't protest and now she was stuck between Galinda and Fiyero, and it was awkward, to say the least. As she looked around the table from her new viewpoint, Fiyero happened to turn and catch her eye.

Elphaba lowered her gaze immediately, taking a sip of her drink. She felt more than saw Fiyero tense, before he turned back to his conversation and returned to ignoring her.

But it _was _easier, having Galinda next to her and being able to talk a little with her friend.

"Nessa!"

Elphaba called out as she saw her sister wheel past, Boq at her side.

"Elphaba, you're here!" came Nessa's surprised reply.

Elphaba supressed her annoyance at her sister's tone, admitting to herself that it was unusual for her to be here.

"What are you two doing?" Elphaba asked, looking at Nessa and Boq.

"I like the band here tonight and wanted Nessarose to hear them," Boq replied.

"You should join us," Elphaba suggested.

She heard Shen-Shen draw in her breath sharply at the audacity of the green girl to invite the (albeit tragically beautiful) crippled girl and a mere Munchkin to join their table.

"Yes, join us!" Fiyero jumped in hastily.

Elphaba was surprised at a moment that he'd agreed with her, but it made more sense when he pushed his chair down the table- away from Elphaba, under the cover of making room for Nessa's chair beside her sister.

Boq and Nessa accepted happily and joined them, and so the night continued.

Elphaba could admit the band wasn't bad, and the music killed the need for conversation so it wasn't that awkward, but she'd still much rather be back in her room. Pfannee and Shen-Shen went to dance with some of the others and Fiyero left to get drinks for those that remained.

"This song is great, isn't it?" Galinda whispered to Elphaba through teary eyes.

They were playing a pop type song, and the lead singer was singing about wanting to be popular and in with the "In crowd."

All through the OzDust, people were singing along and dancing, and Elphaba wondered if they had any clue what they were singing about and what the words meant.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she answered Galinda, who nodded wordlessly as her friend left.

Elphaba made her way through the room with difficulty, heading towards the bathrooms. The bathrooms were situated down a corridor past the bar, and it was crowded. And much to Elphaba's dismay, the line for the girl's bathroom was stretching all the way down the hall to the ballroom.

With a sigh, Elphaba joined the end of the line, vowing never to let Galinda drag her to one of these things again. As she waited, she let her gaze drift around the room.

And something caught her attention, as the song moved into the second chorus. She could see Fiyero standing at the bar, a pretty brunette next to him, looking torn over whether to try and get the attention of Fiyero or the band's lead singer.

"_Doesn't Anyone Here Live An Original Life  
Or Did You Surrender To Be On The Inside?  
When You Disappear They Won't Remember Your Name  
And You'll Fade Away And Someone Takes Your Place.  
Takes Your Place  
In The In Crowd."_

Fiyero's face as the band (and the crowd) sang the words… it took Elphaba a moment to place it on the prince's face and took her completely by surprised.

It was sadness.

Even from a short distance away, Elphaba could see the expression in his blue eyes. Expressions that gave her the sense the playboy prince knew _exactly _what the words meant and what they were singing about.

And it gave her an odd feeling. Pity. No, sympathy. She felt _sorry_ for Fiyero Tiggular. It was only for a moment though, because in the next instant, it was gone and Fiyero had turned to one of his friends and made a joke.

But that moment had been enough. Elphaba saw it so clearly then, she felt like an idiot for not seeing it before. Fiyero was unhappy. He was miserable. The shallowness and the self-absorption… that was an _act_. For whatever reason he was doing it, it wasn't real. He was deeply unhappy, and it made Elphaba doubt everything she'd ever thought about the prince.

When she returned to the table, Fiyero was acting as cheerful and carefree as ever. Elphaba admittedly studied him carefully. He was good. Fiyero was a very good actor, and Elphaba was even tempted to buy the act.

But Elphaba couldn't forget what she had seen. She just wasn't sure what it meant.

**AN. Thank you to Julia-Caesar for helping with the song choice! It's "The in-crowd" by Mitchel Musso, if anyone was wondering.**

**And another question, if no one minds answering- who (if anyone) reads my blog?**


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**Fifteen**

Elphaba was _not _having a good day.

Put quite simply, it was what should have been her mother's forty- second birthday. It was a horrendible day for the whole Thropp family- even for Nessa, who had never met Melena.

This was the first year the girls weren't at home for the day, and Elphaba wasn't really sure how to commemorate the day- not that she ever was. But she usually made a point of taking flowers to her mother's grave, which she obviously could not do today.

It was a Wednesday, so at least she had classes to keep her busy, but that wasn't much of a consolation today.

It didn't take long for Galinda to notice her roommate was unusually quiet that day.

"Elphie?" she asked as they were getting ready to leave. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," Elphaba said, not looking at her.

Galinda wasn't buying that for a moment. "Elphie, tell me."

Elphaba sighed and sat down on her desk chair, pausing in putting the books she'd need for that day in her bag.

"Today is my mother's birthday," she answered.

Galinda wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "Oh, Elphie… I'm sorry."

Elphaba shrugged, playing with the pages of a book lying open on her desk.

"It doesn't matter. It's not a big deal."

Galinda rolled her eyes. "Of course it's not. That's why you've barely said ten words all morning."

Elphaba chuckled faintly. "I guess… I don't really know what to do. How to treat it. I never have. I mean… she's dead."

"Yes, but she was your mother. Being dead doesn't mean you don't remember her life," Galinda said gently.

"In my house it does," Elphaba replied. "I usually take flowers to her grave… my father doesn't know. He doesn't even mention it."

"And Nessa?"

"Usually the same. But it's different for her, she doesn't remember her. Granted I only have a few hazy memories, but still…"

"Are you sure going to class is the best thing to do today?" Galinda asked. "Maybe we should skip it. Have a girl's day?"

Elphaba shook her head with a small smile. "No thanks. I like to keep busy."

"Well, is there _anything_ I can do?"

"Keep Fiyero away from me as much as possible."

Galinda nodded. That would be the best thing possible.

"Done. Are you ready?"

Elphaba nodded and grabbed her bag. "Yep. Let's go."

Galinda kept her word, and kept Fiyero and Elphaba away from one another.

Nessa said nothing to her sister about the significance of the day, as Elphaba had predicted.

Galinda had planned to go to dinner, not with Fiyero for a change, but with Milla, Pfannee and Shen-Shen. She offered to cancel, but Elphaba refused. She was looking forward to a few moments alone.

But when she _was _alone, she kind of wished for some company. So, she pulled out some paper, and began a letter to Dathien.

"_I know we have our no specifics rule, and it seems to be working for us, right? Well, I'm going to bend those rules slightly. Because right now I need someone to talk to, and you're my only option- if only because I won't be able to hear your pity on paper._

_Today has been a really crappy day. _

_You want to know something about me? My mother is dead. And it was my fault. Today would have been her birthday, which is hard enough._

_There's two days of the year I feel more guilty than usual. The day she died, and her birthday. Because if not for me, she'd be here- alive, to celebrate her birthday in person. _

_Ever since she died, my father pretty much ignores me. He resents me, because of what happened to her. Because he knows that it is my fault. _

_Well, maybe 'resent' isn't the right word. 'Hates' probably fits better. And I'm not joking, or being overdramatic. He hates me. And he doesn't hide that fact either._

_You don't have to feel sorry for me; I've known this my whole life. I don't think our relationship has ever been any different, but there may have been a few years when he simply hated me less. _

_I don't really tell anyone what happened with my mother. Only my best friend knows. She argues that it's not my fault, but it is. Or even if it isn't, it's far too late for me to stop feeling guilty now. _

_You don't have to reply to this letter by the way; in fact I really don't want you to. I'm not asking you to tell me that what happened isn't my fault._

_I just needed to be able to write. I guess I'm hoping the more I put on paper, the lighter than ache in my gut will be. I've always found writing to you to be very therapeutic over the last few months. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's being able to sort out my thoughts and get them all down on paper._

_I hope you'll forgive me for abusing our friendship this way._

_Sincerely, _

_Fae."_

When Fiyero received the letter, he could only stare at the paper in shock. Elphaba's mother was dead? And according to her and her father, it was her fault.

What could she have done that would have resulted in her mother's death?

He was curious (but he _didn't_ care, as he told himself), but when he saw Nessa later that day, he casually stopped to have a bit of a chat.

"So, listen," he said after some small chat about homework, school and the weather. "I heard it was your mother's birthday last week. I'm sorry, I didn't realise she'd died."

Nessa looked surprised. "Oh, thank you, Fiyero."

"You must miss her," he prodded lightly.

Nessa paused and then shrugged. "I never knew her. She died giving birth to me," she explained simply.

Fiyero cringed apologetically. "Oh, sorry."

She smiled politely. "It doesn't matter, you didn't know. Elphaba remembers her a little, but she was… about three and a half when it happened."

_Three and a half_, and she had done something to cause her mother's death?

"What happened?" he asked, unable to hide his alarm.

Nessa cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Our mother was taking milk flowers to prevent me from being born like Elphaba. She went into premature labour and started haemorrhaging."

"And you were born, unable to walk," Fiyero said slowly in realisation.

"Yes," Nessa replied shortly. "Fiyero, please don't tell Elphaba I told you. She doesn't like people knowing."

"Sure," he agreed, only half-listening.

He bid Nessa farewell and that night, he read the letter again.

After reading it, he felt bad. Knowing the situation explained a lot about the way Elphaba was, and that tended to be one of the things he antagonised her about the most- her coldness.

Yes, they were being civil to one another now, but they were nowhere near friends. Some days even civility was a struggle. Although since learning she was Fae, he'd admittedly been ignoring her as much as possible. It was just too hard, thinking of her as Fae when they were so different.

But this made him feel guilty about every mean thought he'd had about Elphaba Thropp. He spent all of their History class the next day looking at Elphaba from the corner of his eye.

As if for the first time, he noticed how she sat alone from everyone else- especially now that Galinda had dropped the class. Even Nessa, her own sister, didn't sit with her. No one spoke to her; no one even looked at her.

And Fiyero realised that Elphaba really was alone. Of course, she had "Dathien" and now Galinda… but that was it. If her own father, in Elphaba's own words _hated _her…

He told himself he didn't care. But after class, he hurried down the hall after Elphaba.

"Er, Elphaba?"

She looked both stunned and wary as she turned around to face him. Fiyero couldn't blame her; he wasn't sure if he'd ever spoken to her that politely before. Or even if he'd ever actually addressed her by name before. If he had to refer to her as something, he usually preferred "Elphie", knowing it annoyed her.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

Fiyero looked around, there were plenty of people milling about the halls and he didn't want them staring or listening in.

"Could I talk to you for a moment? Privately?"

Elphaba paused, wondering if perhaps this was a trick and something bad was going to happen if she agreed. But she nodded.

"I suppose."

She followed him into an empty classroom and faced him with her arms folded over her chest.

"What do you want?"

Fiyero took a deep breath. "I've been thinking-"

"Oh, that's a big deal for you," Elphaba retorted coldly.

Fiyero let that slide. "I've been thinking about our situation."

She raised an eyebrow. "Our situation?"

He sighed impatiently. "Look, Galinda's your best friend, I know. And she's my girlfriend. And I know we agreed to be civil, but I think we both know that isn't really working. And I think Galinda would be happy if we could actually have a conversation without fighting."

Elphaba frowned. "What are you saying? You want to be_ friends?"_

Fiyero didn't want to go _that _far.

"I'm saying I think we should make a genuine effort to get along."

She considered that for a long moment. On one hand, her tolerance for Fiyero still wasn't very high. But she knew he had a point.

And in light of her recent revelation regarding Fiyero, she was feeling slightly more sympathetic towards the prince. She'd written to Dathien a few days after the night at the OzDust, and one thing in particular was fixed in her memory;

"_It's an odd situation you find yourself in when you get a glimpse to indicate someone is more than you appear and you have to rethink your opinion of them. But despite this brief glimpse, I still find myself irritated by people's actions, especially when you know (or think) that they are capable of being different."_

Elphaba was sure that Fiyero was more than what he seemed, the moment at the OzDust had convinced her of that. But although she'd been watching him more carefully of late, there were no more glimpses that she saw. But the lingering and confusing feelings of sympathy remained.

"I know Galinda would be happy to do things with us together," she agreed grudgingly. "Fine."

Fiyero nodded, pleased with himself. "Ok. So… I'll see you around, I guess."

"Sure," she said tiredly and left the room without another word.

Fiyero nodded to himself. _This does _not _mean you care, _he said firmly to himself. But he wasn't so sure he believed his own thoughts anymore.


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. So, I had another thought to follow on from my "Fiyero is Logan from Gilmore Girls" thought. If Fiyero is Logan, I think that may make Micah and Corin, Colin and Finn respectively... scary. Corin/Finn works out well.**

**Sorry, just a short chapter today, but I hope you enjoy it!**

**Sixteen**

Fiyero had not wanted to take literature this semester, but he'd needed something to fill his timetable and it was either literature or philosophy. So, literature won.

But he didn't love it, and he was lucky if he'd read anything they were talking about in class. So, a week after he and Elphaba had revised their agreement to get along, he was less than impressed when their teacher announced they would be spending a few weeks on poetry analysis.

Fiyero _hated _poetry, and especially hated having to analyse it.

They were put into pairs, and by coincidence Fiyero was paired with Elphaba. He made an effort not to appear too unenthusiastic about that- not just in light of their agreement, but figuring that Elphaba was bound to have the right answers.

"So, what's this poem?" he asked reluctantly as they found a quiet corner of the classroom.

She looked faintly amused. "If you look at the page you were handed not thirty seconds ago…"

Fiyero said nothing, and looked at the paper in his hand.

"Annabel Lee?"

"Do you want to read it or should I?" Elphaba asked him.

Fiyero shrugged. "I'll read it."

He awkwardly cleared his throat and began to read.

"_It was many and many a year ago,_

_In a kingdom by the sea,_

_That a maiden there lived whom you may know_

_By the name of Annabel Lee;_

_And this maiden she lived with no other thought_

_Than to love and be loved by me._

_I was a child and she was a child,_

_In this kingdom by the sea;_

_But we loved with a love that was more than love-_

_I and my Annabel Lee;_

_With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven_

_Coveted her and me._

_And this was the reason that, long ago,_

_In this kingdom by the sea,_

_A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling_

_My beautiful Annabel Lee;_

_So that her highborn kinsman came_

_And bore her away from me,_

_To shut her up in a sepulchre_

_In this kingdom by the sea._

_The angels, not half so happy in heaven,_

_Went envying her and me-_

_Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,_

_In this kingdom by the sea)_

_That the wind came out of the cloud by night,_

_Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee._

_But our love it was stronger by far than the love_

_Of those who were older than we-_

_Of many far wiser than we-_

_And neither the angels in heaven above,_

_Nor the demons down under the sea,_

_Can ever dissever my soul from the soul_

_Of the beautiful Annabel Lee._

_For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams_

_Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;_

_And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes_

_Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;_

_And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side_

_Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,_

_In the sepulchre there by the sea,_

_In her tomb by the sounding sea."_

When he finished reading, he looked up at Elphaba.

"Ok, so what's it about?"

She sighed. "Really? You don't have a _single_ clue?"

Fiyero studied the paper. "Off the top of my head, I'm going to say it's about a girl called Annabel Lee."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "That's brilliant, Fiyero."

Her sarcasm seemed more amused and exasperated than mean, so Fiyero grinned at her.

"Am I wrong?"

Elphaba struggled with words for a moment. "No," she finally agreed. "Read it again. See what you get from it."

Fiyero read the poem again to himself and thought about the words as Elphaba watched him.

"Ok… so there's a girl… named Annabel Lee… and she died?" he asked tentatively and she smiled faintly.

"Yes. What else? What about the narrator? What's his relationship with Annabel Lee?"

"He loved her," Fiyero replied confidently. He was sure of that, at least.

Elphaba positively beamed. "Yes!"

Fiyero felt pleased with himself as he looked at the words. "What are 'winged seraphs'?"

"Angels."

"And sepulchre is a tomb, right?"

"Right," Elphaba confirmed.

"So… he's saying that the angels were so jealous of their love that they killed her?" Fiyero asked sceptically.

Elphaba sensed his tone. "You doubt that?"

"I find it hard to believe that angels have nothing better to do than kill people," Fiyero said honestly and Elphaba laughed.

It was the first time he'd ever heard her genuinely laugh, and it surprised him for a second.

"What do you think?" he asked her and she hesitated.

"I think when people lose someone they love they want answers," she said finally, her voice quiet. "And I think it's probably easier for them to blame the angels or whatever else. Then they have someone to be angry at. Someone to blame."

Fiyero thought of Elphaba's mother and her relationship with her father (what he knew about it) since her death.

"Do you think a love like that exists?"

She looked startled. "A love like what?"

Fiyero pointed to a few lines on the page in reply. "_But we loved with a love that was more than love.' _This guy spends every night what, sleeping next to her tomb? That's... that's commitment. Sounds kind of crazy to me."

"I'm hardly an expert on love," Elphaba retorted dryly.

Fiyero kept murmuring that line to himself. "We loved with a love that was more than love… what's more than love?"

"You're asking the wrong person," Elphaba said, looking at her own paper.

"Well, it says they were children… how powerful do you think it really was? Don't hormonal teenagers tend to exaggerate these things?"

Elphaba smiled. "I think so, but… '_neither the angels in heaven above/ nor the demons under the sea/ can ever dissever my soul from the soul/ of the beautiful Annabel Lee'. _They were soul mates. If you believe in that."

"Do you?" Fiyero asked her.

Elphaba paused thoughtfully. "I think if you can find that one person who understands you more than anyone else… you should hang on to them," she said simply. "Do you?"

Fiyero stared at her, an odd feeling creeping over him.

"I don't know. I've never thought about it," he said honestly.

But he was thinking about it now.

**AN. The poem is Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee." It's my favourite poem, which those of you who read my blog will know!**

**And thank you to those people who commented on my latest blog post! It really meant a lot, it's been a heavy and emotional past few days, and your words meant a lot.**


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**AN. And of course, what's a Shiz-era Fiyeraba without the Lion Cub scene? But I did it a bit differently, so you didn't have to re-read it for the millionth time!**

**I'm going to be posting daily, just for the next few days, because I really want to post my favourite chapter on my birthday!**

**Somehow, I don't think anyone's going to complain, haha. **

**Seventeen**

Fiyero had never been so eager to get a letter from Elphaba in his life. As soon as he picked it up, he hurried back to the privacy of his room and tore open the envelope.

"_Dear Dathien…_

_I know this is hardly the sort of subject matter we usually discuss, but there's no one else I can turn to. Not for this._

_Something's happened… well, more than one thing, I hardly know where to begin. _

_I don't know if I've ever mentioned this to you before, but Dr Dillamond, the History teacher here at Shiz, a wonderful teacher, is a Goat. He's the lone Animal on the faculty, which apparently was not always the case. _

_Anyway… he was taken away yesterday. Animals are no longer permitted to teach, and so he was forcibly removed from the classroom right before our eyes. I mean literally dragged, and our HeadShizstress just stood there and did nothing! _

_And as if that weren't bad enough…_

_His replacement… Oz, I can hardly bear to think of the injustice of what happened next. He wheeled in a trolley, upon which was a Lion Cub- in a cage! And he was torturing the poor thing, if you could have seen it… it was trembling, and the idiot professor insisted it was because "he's just excited to be here."_

_The poor Cub was anything but excited, trust me. If you could have seen the way it shook! And everyone in the class just sat there as he told us that by caging the poor Animal (where was its Mother, by the way?) HE WOULD NEVER LEARN TO SPEAK._

_Can you imagine anything as horrendible as a world where Animals are kept in cages and never speak? _

_The poor Cub… it's a baby, it's completely innocent, but it's been trapped against its will… but as horrendible as this is, I wish it was what I'm writing to tell you. _

_I've done something really awful and really stupid. See, as you might have been able to guess, the idea of leaving the Cub in that cage to be poke and prodded doesn't really sit well with me. _

_So, I took it. Don't ask me how I did it unnoticed; because that is a very long and complicated story, that even I don't understand all of. But I wasn't alone._

_My best friend's boyfriend is in the class with me and helped me rescue the Cub. We took it to the forest to set it free, somewhere kind of close to its natural habitat was the plan I guess. Mostly I wanted to find somewhere safe. _

_I know I've mentioned to you before that this boy and I aren't especially friends. We've been making an effort to get along lately, but well… it really is an effort sometimes._

_And because that's just what we do, we kind of argued while we were searching for the best spot to set the Cub free. And I fell into an unfortunate habit I have of rambling. _

_And then I told him. Remember, I wrote to you that I didn't think he was as shallow and self-absorbed as he pretended to be? Well, I called him out on it. He denied it, of course, but then I told him I thought he was unhappy._

_And I swear he was going to protest that too- because that's perhaps the biggest mask of he wears- that of the carefree, always happy. But then he went to leave… Oz… I should have let him go. _

_But he was suggesting that I didn't want his help, or I wasn't grateful for his help… and I was. It wasn't that I couldn't have freed the Cub on my own, but it was nice to have someone on my side. I so often feel like no one is on my side. _

_So, I grabbed his hand. _

_I always thought that in books, when people touched and felt something- sparks, chemistry, whatever you want to call it, I always thought that was rubbish. But I felt something when I grabbed his hand. It was like… time stopped. I think my hand is still tingling now. _

_That's not the worst part though. There was a moment… I thought he was going to kiss me. And I really wanted him to._

_MY BEST FRIEND'S BOYFRIEND. Oz, I'm so horrendible. I can't believe I'm having these feelings for him. It's so, so, so inappropriate. And the very idea is ridiculous. _

_There's no way even if he wasn't dating my best friend that he'd ever be interested in me. Let's just say, I'm not that girl. _

_I don't know how I'm ever going to be in the same room as him ever again. And if my friend ever found out, she'd be so hurt. _

_What am I supposed to do now? _

_But in asking that, I don't think I want an answer. I think its best that I just pretend this never happened, and forget about whatever feelings I think I'm having. _

_I just keep replaying the scene over and over again in my mind, on a loop. And each time I'm more and more convinced anything I think I saw is just in my imagination. And each time, I feel more and more foolish. _

_He and my best friend are perfect together, and I touch his hand and suddenly I'm convinced there's a possibility he could… I can't believe I was that dumb. _

_And I'm not trying to be modest or anything by insisting that whatever it was that happened was one-sided and that he could never return any feelings I may or may not have for him; it's the truth. We come from completely different worlds._

_I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl, so there's no use pretending otherwise. _

_I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear all this, and actually, I don't blame you. But if I didn't tell someone, I was likely to implode. And unfortunately, given my options of possible people to talk to, you drew the short straw._

_Don't feel obligated to reply to this. There's nothing you can say._

_-Fae."_

Fiyero's mouth was dry as he stared at her words.

She had felt it too.

There _had _been a moment, when she grabbed his hand… Fiyero had never felt so much with just a single touch before. He remembered being faintly surprised by how soft her skin was, but most alarming of all had been the sudden, swooping feeling in his gut.

And suddenly, Fiyero had been aware of nothing else but Elphaba- until the pitiful crying of the Lion Cub broke the spell and drew Elphaba's attention.

But Fiyero… she was right, he had almost kissed her. She'd raised her hand to wipe a little blood from his cheek where the Cub must have scratched him, and he had leaned in slightly. And then he had promptly panicked and run off.

Because he had really, really wanted to kiss her. And these were not thoughts he was accustomed to having about Elphaba Thropp.

Yes, his feelings towards her in the past month had become somewhat confusifying since learning she was Fae and given their agreement to try and get along more genuinely, rather than just tolerate one another's presence. But he had been overwhelmed by how strong the urge was to close those final few inches of distance between them and kiss her.

As she had said- he was her best friend's boyfriend; meaning she was his girlfriend's best friend.

But he felt almost insulted by how strong her conviction was that there was no way he could ever reciprocate her feelings. Maybe she wasn't beautiful like Galinda, but she _was _beautiful; as Fiyero had often been struck with in recent weeks. It was a different sort of beauty, but it was there, once you got past the green.

And although they were getting along much better now- the increasingly awkward glances and silences between them aside, they weren't what Fiyero would call friends yet. Elphaba still hid a lot behind her sarcasm and defensive walls. But it had now been a week since the incident with the Cub, and Fiyero had been unable to think of almost anything other than Elphaba and what it meant.

Fiyero sighed and lay down on his bed, his hand over his eyes wearily.

There was no other choice. He'd have to break up with Galinda. It wasn't fair to her to continue dating her as though nothing had happened; and even if nothing technically _had _happened with Elphaba, Fiyero knew what his feelings were now.

And whilst he didn't think it was much more appropriate to go after you ex-girlfriend's best friend, than your girlfriend's best friend (wasn't there some kind of girl code about that?), Fiyero knew he still owed it to Galinda to end things if he wasn't truly committed to her.

And thinking about your girlfriend's best friend who you had almost kissed all the time, definitely constituted as not being truly committed in Fiyero's mind, even if he wasn't an expert on relationships.

* * *

It took Galinda a week of complaining to Elphaba about how moodified Fiyero had been since Dr Dillamond was taken away, before she took her roommate's advice, and asked Fiyero point blank what was going on, two weeks after the fact.

They were sitting by Suicide Canal, as Fiyero stalled, wondering what to say. He didn't want to reveal about the Lion Cub to her, to him it was an incredibly sacred moment that only existed between him and Elphaba. To share it with Galinda would be like betraying his memory of that moment.

"I need to tell you something," he said slowly.

Galinda merely looked at him. "OK."

Fiyero looked back at her. What he was about to say sounded like a cliché, but it was true. He couldn't pretend otherwise.

"Galinda… I really like you," he began. "You're great, and we've had a lot of fun the last few months. But…"

Galinda's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're breaking up with me?"

Fiyero winced. "Yes. Galinda, it's nothing personal, it's just… things have changed. There are things you don't know and…"

"What things?" she demanded, looking horrified. "Is there someone else?"

"Uh… not really… sort of… I don't know," he sighed in frustration. Was it cheating if you only communicated through letters?

Then he hesitated. "Has Elphaba mentioned anything to you about her pen pal?"

That was one of Galinda's favourite conversation topics and she was completely distracted.

"Dathien? Of course she has, I'm her best friend! Although I don't know why she wouldn't let me tell you and see if you knew who it could be-"

And then she stopped mid-sentence as it clicked.

"How do _you _know about her pen pal?" she asked suspiciously.

Fiyero met her gaze steadily, waiting for that final piece of information to click. And even if he hadn't seen it immediately in her eyes, her gasp and the way her jaw dropped would have clued him in.

"It's _you! You're _Dathien? But… how? Elphie's sending the letters to the CEC…"

"I have a friend who gets them and forwards them to me here," Fiyero explained. "I didn't want my pen pal to know I was at Shiz, because then it would be obvious who I was and… I didn't know if I wanted to reveal myself."

"_All this time…" _Galinda murmured to herself, in shock. Then she realised something else.

"You stood her up! That night… at the _Wilted Rose!_"

"Technically, I didn't," Fiyero defended himself quickly. "I went in and talked to her… I just didn't admit who I was."

"Why?" Galinda questioned.

Fiyero shrugged. "I don't know… I thought she'd laugh at me. We talked about a lot of personal stuff in our letters… things that don't really go with the way people see me," he admitted.

He was surprised to see tears in Galinda's eyes.

"Er, Glin?"

Galinda didn't know what to say. For the past few months, she'd been so happy and she'd sworn to Elphaba from the beginning that she and Fiyero would be married. After all, they were perfect together. And until the last few weeks, she'd believed Fiyero was just as happy as she was.

She wasn't quite sure what to do. She was mad, but she wasn't sure who she should be mad at or why. Elphaba, for signing up for the pen pal program? Fiyero, for the same reason or for writing back to her? Whoever had decided to pair them up together? She was mad, and hurt... but this was no one's fault, was it?

But as she sat there now, looking at him, she recognised something in him. And as much as it hurt her to see it, a small part of her wondered how long it had been there and she just hadn't noticed it.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" she asked quietly, wiping a tear away that was running down her cheek.

Fiyero paused, but didn't want to lie to her. "I think so," he replied gently. "Which I know is backwards because she can barely stand me…"

"That's not true," Galinda cut in. "You just… you need to get to know her, as you. Maybe if she saw some of the person you apparently are in those letters…"

Then she laughed bitterly. "I can't believe I'm giving my ex-boyfriend advice on how to win over my best friend," she said, almost to herself.

Fiyero felt awful. "Galinda, I'm so sorry."

Galinda smiled sadly. "When you think about it, you knew Elphaba before me, even if you were only pen pals. So maybe all this time… I've just been in the way. It's Fate, I guess."

Galinda's voice was quiet and she was trying to keep her hurt and slight jealous feelings out of her voice. It wasn't Elphaba or Fiyero's fault, this had just happened.

"What happens now?" he asked, handing her a handkerchief from his jacket pocket so she could wipe her eyes.

She shrugged and sighed. "Fiyero... I'm going to need some time." She didn't finish that sentence with the truth that she wanted to confess to him. That she could have been in love with him, and to know that he was in love with Elphaba almost killed her as much as she thought it was beautiful.

Fiyero nodded, and Galinda almost got a sense that he knew or suspected what she hadn't said, so she pressed on.

"To- to get my head around the idea. But then we'll be fine. We can maybe be friends?" she offered, trying to be brave. "If you and Elphie get together, I think that would be nice if we were friends."

She knew from experience how unpleasant it was when your boyfriend and best friend didn't get along, and she was resolved to rise above it all.

Fiyero chuckled. "I don't know if that will happen, Glin."

"So what's going to happen?" she demanded. "You're just going to write to her under a fake name for the rest of your lives? Provided you don't get expelled, you're going to be here for the next two years, Fiyero. And you're just going to be around Elphie and pretend you don't have feelings for her, or that you're not writing to her?

And one day, you're going to slip up. You'll mention something she's only ever written to you about, and then the truth will come out, and she'll be so hurt you didn't tell her who you were. She already thinks you stood her up that night because you saw the colour of her skin, Fiyero. Don't hurt her anymore. She's been hurt enough already. She deserves the truth more than anyone."

Galinda stared at him determinedly. She was going to get through this breakup with her dignity intact if it killed her, but she wasn't going to let this go now that she knew what she did. If it was going to be known that she and Fiyero Tiggular were no longer together, it wasn't going to be for nothing.

"So, what do I do?" Fiyero asked. "Just tell her the truth? She'd slap me… or hex me. I'm pretty fond of all my limbs, Galinda."

She giggled, but admitted he had a point. "Talk to her. Make friends- real friends. You've got a head start, because I'm guessing you know her pretty well through those letters. And maybe once you get to a certain point and she lets you in- you, as Fiyero, not as Dathien, you can tell her the truth."

Fiyero nodded. He only had one final question.

"What are you going to tell Elphaba? Because she's going to find out we broke up."

Galinda thought about that for a moment, then smiled and shrugged slightly at him. "I'll tell her… and everyone else… that we decided we wanted to see other people. Simple. No one's the bad guy, no one's getting hurt. And it's kind of true, I mean, you _do _want to see other people. Or... specifically, _one _other person," she said thoughtfully.

Fiyero laughed. Then he reached over and hugged Galinda tightly.

"I'm really sorry, Galinda," he said sincerely.

Galinda forced a smile. "Me too," she replied quietly, then walked away.

He always knew Galinda was smarter than most people gave her credit for. He just hoped she was right about Elphaba. Now Galinda knew, there was no going back.

**AN. I hope everyone likes this! I literally re-wrote the Galinda part about 20 times.**


	18. Chapter 18

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**Eighteen**

A week after his and Galinda's break up, Fiyero was surprised when he entered his Life Sciences class just in time for the beginning of the lecture, and Elphaba was not there. She _never _missed class.

"Where is she?" he hissed to Galinda, sitting next to the blonde.

He didn't have to specify who he was talking about.

"She's sick," Galinda murmured back. "I'm making her stay in bed."

Fiyero was alarmed. The idea of Elphaba being sick was so foreign. "She's _sick?_ Elphaba? With what?"

"Just a head cold, but she could barely stand, she's so dizzy. She wasn't too thrillified with missing class, but I insisted."

Fiyero felt oddly disappointed at the idea of not seeing Elphaba that day.

"Do you think she'd mind if I went and saw her later?"

Galinda smiled slightly. "I don't know. But I'll give you the notes I promised her and you can take them. Just make an excuse I couldn't get back and asked you to deliver them," she suggested.

Fiyero grinned. "Thanks, Glin."

He was relieved that things weren't too awkward between him and Galinda. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but Galinda was trying her best to rise above the situation and gain perspective on the issue.

But there were times it felt incredibly awkward to the blonde that she was helping the boy who had essentially dumped her win the heart of her best friend. And Galinda spent a lot of time wondering how Elphaba felt about Fiyero.

She more than suspected she had feelings for Dathien- even if she would never admit it, but Fiyero was another story.

But Fiyero was also determined not to do things by halves. If he was going to make friends with Elphaba (albeit in the hope of becoming more than friends), he was going to do it thoroughly and properly.

So, when he knocked on Elphaba's dorm room, he was not only holding the notes from Galinda that he had agreed to pass on, but a takeaway container of hot chicken noodle soup, and a bouquet of red poppies.

When he knocked, there was no answer. No movement, no sound nothing. So, he knocked again.

"Elphaba? It's Fiyero. I brought you some stuff."

This time he heard a groan. "Go away!" she called back faintly.

Fiyero ignored this, and instead tried the door, which he found unlocked. Elphaba was lying on top of her bed covers limply, dressed in her usual black dress, which was a sign of her attempt to go to class. Her hair was in a braid, but falling out.

And right now, she was glaring weakly at Fiyero.

"Didn't you hear me say 'go away'?"

"No," Fiyero lied, feigning surprise. "I thought you said 'come in.'"

Elphaba didn't have the energy to retort the two phrases sounded nothing alike.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, shutting the door behind him and coming further into the room.

"Peachy," she replied sourly.

Her nose was blocked, she ached all over, she had a fever and her head felt like it weighed about a ton.

Fiyero didn't respond. "I brought you notes from class. Galinda had to do something, so she asked me to bring them."

"I thought you two broke up?" Elphaba asked in confusion.

"We did. But we're still friends."

Elphaba tried to sit up as she fought to make sense of that. "Good enough friends you'd bring notes for me? You hate me."

"I don't hate you," Fiyero replied, looking surprised. "I've never hated you."

That was news to Elphaba, but she let it go.

"You can just put the notes on my desk, thank you," she said, changing the subject in the hope Fiyero would do what he came to do and leave.

But Fiyero put the notes down where she indicated and then held up the container.

"I brought you soup too."

That did stun Elphaba. "Oh," she said, looking at the container. "And… flowers?"

Fiyero looked at the poppies in his other hand. "Yeah. I… I don't think they'll help, but I thought they'd be nice."

Elphaba accepted them silently. She'd never been given flowers before.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "Poppies are my favourite, how did you know?"

'_From your letters,' _Fiyero thought to himself but then shrugged. "I didn't. Lucky guess, I suppose. Good thing I didn't go with the dragonsnaps, then, huh?"

Elphaba smiled weakly. "Don't you have class?"

"No," Fiyero replied.

He placed the soup on her nightstand.

"You should be in bed."

"I am in bed," Elphaba countered.

"No, you're on your bed. Do you have a fever?"

Elphaba opened her mouth to answer, but Fiyero didn't wait and simply pressed a hand to her forehead, which made her freeze.

She _did_ have a fever, she knew, and Fiyero could tell immediately.

"Wow, you're really burning up. Here, you should really get in bed."

Before Elphaba could protest, he'd lifted up her feet and slid them under her quilt, before adjusting the blankets so she was covered. Then he sat her up and adjusted the pillows so she was sitting up.

"Eat this," he ordered, handing her the soup.

It had all happened so fast, Elphaba wondered if she was delirious with fever.

"What are you _doing _here?" she demanded, reluctantly accepting the soup he pressed on her.

Fiyero replaced the flowers in her hand with a spoon as he replied. "Making sure you're okay."

"Why?" Elphaba asked.

Fiyero paused and sat down on her bed. "You're sick."

"And you care because?"

"We're friends aren't we?"

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "Not really."

That was admittedly true, Fiyero accepted. "Ok, well… maybe we should be friends."

Elphaba only blinked at him. "Am I dying?" she wondered aloud, and Fiyero chuckled.

"You're not dying," he assured her. "But… I'd like to be your friend. After everything that's happened in the last few weeks…"

Elphaba's mind flew back to the Lion Cub. "Oh."

She took a small spoonful of soup and sipped it as Fiyero watched, trying to hide his anxiety.

"I suppose we could be friends… maybe," she agreed awkwardly.

Fiyero smiled. "Ok," he agreed.

Then he stood up. "I'll let you rest. Make sure you eat all the soup," he said firmly.

Remembering he still held the poppies in his hand from when he'd taken them from her, he looked around.

"Have you got a vase for these?"

She gave him a pointed look, which needed no interpretation. "Ok, has Galinda got a vase?" he amended.

"Cupboard under the sink in the bathroom," she replied.

Fiyero found the said vase, filled it with water and placed the poppies in it, which he then stood on her nightstand.

"There you go. So… I'll see you later, I guess."

"Sure," she agreed and watched in silence as he left the room.

She wasn't entirely sure what had just happened. Fiyero wanted to be her friend?

But she felt better that he and Galinda were getting along. When her roommate had announced sadly that she and Fiyero had ended their relationship, Elphaba had felt a twinge of guilt.

She hoped it wasn't because of anything that had happened with the Lion Cub, that Fiyero had broken up with Galinda because of guilt… or worse, that Galinda had found out. But Galinda simply said they wanted to see other people.

And although that concerned Elphaba, given Galinda's insistence from day one that she and Fiyero were going to be married; she let it go. And Galinda seemed to be fine, if not a bit quiet at times.

And now Fiyero wanted to be her friend… as strange as it sounded to Elphaba, she had decided she had nothing to lose. She didn't exactly have many friends, and given the current state of her feelings towards Fiyero… well, friendship was better than nothing, right?

When Galinda finally returned to the room later that afternoon, Elphaba had finished the soup, had a nap and was feeling much better- although her head was still stuffy.

"How are you feeling?" Galinda asked, careful not to be as loud as usual in consideration of Elphaba's head.

"Better, I think," Elphaba replied with a smile.

"Did Fiyero come by? He said he would," Galinda said, although the poppies on the nightstand were a clear indication _someone_ had been there; and frankly, after Galinda, Fiyero was the most likely candidate.

"Yes. I didn't realise you two were friends still. After everything," Elphaba said, leaning back on her pillows and looking over at her friend.

Galinda shrugged. "We're trying. We see each other so much, it would be awkward not to. Besides, he's a _prince. _You never know when being friends with him will come in handy," she pointed out.

Elphaba chuckled. "I see. Social capital."

Galinda frowned. "What?"

"Social capital. It's a sociology term," Elphaba explained wearily.

Galinda neither studied nor had any interest in sociology since she had spent a week studying it in first semester until she discovered it had little to do with actually socialising.

"Oh. Well, sure, I suppose," she agreed, figuring Elphaba knew what she was talking about.

"Have I missed anything important today?"

Galinda grimaced, which was of course, immediately suspicious. "Well…"

Elphaba frowned. "What? What happened?"

Galinda hesitated, knowing her friend wouldn't take this well.

"Boq broke up with Nessa!" she blurted out.

Elphaba's eyes widened. "He what? When? Is she okay?" she demanded, worried about her little sister, who had fallen for Boq- hard.

Galinda felt awful, especially knowing she had pushed Boq to ask out Nessa in the first place.

"Over the weekend, I think. Nessarose was pretty upset about it. I found out just now… Nessa was in the bathroom crying," she explained quietly.

Elphaba scowled. "I am going to murder Boq as soon as I can stand up without the room spinning," she vowed.

Galinda smiled at how overprotective Elphaba was of her sister, but still felt bad. She had her suspicions about why the Munchkin had broken up with Nessa… the timing of it to when the news of Galinda and Fiyero's own break up broke across campus was too convenient to be coincidence. And Galinda was well aware of the Munchkin's crush on her.

"Don't worry about Nessa, I'm looking out for her," Galinda assured her. "And no offence, Elphie, but I have more experience with break ups than you do."

Elphaba chuckled faintly. "Why would I take offence to the truth? Just… make sure she's okay, please?"

"I will," Galinda promised. "I'm taking her for coffee now actually, just to talk. Sometimes that helps."

Elphaba was touched that her friend was taking the time to comfort her sister.

"Thank you, Glin," she said quietly and Galinda hugged her.

"Of course. Now, rest. I'll bring you back something to eat, okay?"

Elphaba agreed.

But she was still confident that as soon as she was able, she would be having several words with Boq.


	19. Chapter 19

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

******AN. Today is my birthday! Hooray! And this is my favourite chapter! Not because anything really big happens, I just love Elphaba and Fiyero's conversation. You'll see!**

**Nineteen**

And so Elphaba and Fiyero began an awkward journey towards friendship.

And although Elphaba was no great judge on the success of such things, it did seem to be going well.

It was nothing terribly big or impressive; they simply made more of an effort to converse with one another, instead of picking arguments.

It was two weeks since Elphaba had been sick when they were all having lunch in town. Elphaba and Galinda had already made the plans during the week, and then Elphaba had invited Nessa to come along, in order to spend some time with her sister. They had been deciding on a place to eat when they met Fiyero, who easily accepted the invitation to join them.

After lunch, Galinda saw a dress shop down the street that was having a sale and she and Nessa decided to go and have a look.

"I need some more stationary," Elphaba said, not keen to go clothes shopping, and Fiyero jumped up.

"I'll come with you."

"You don't want to go dress shopping?" she teased him as they headed away from Nessa and Galinda.

Fiyero grinned. "Believe it or not, no. What do you need stationary for?"

Elphaba shrugged nonchalantly as they entered the store.

"I want to look at some writing sets."

"What for?" he asked, although he knew exactly what for.

After the first month or so or writing, all of Fae's letters had arrived written on lovely paper with matching envelopes. It was always something simple, and tasteful.

"To wear, obviously," she replied sarcastically and then laughed. "To write on. What else would I use it for?"

"I don't know, I'd be quite interested in seeing a dress made out of the paper," he teased back.

"Who do you write to? Your father?"

She snorted. "No. We don't really correspond. I think I've written to him perhaps twice since we arrived at Shiz."

"Well, who are you writing to then?" he prodded, and watched as she tried to hide a blush.

"A secret admirer? Boyfriend?" he teased.

"He's just a friend," Elphaba retorted without thinking, and then winced as Fiyero's eyes gleamed with triumph.

"Aha! So we know it's a _he!"_

"Shut up," she blushed furiously.

Fiyero was quite enjoying himself. "I never would have guessed… Elphaba Thropp has a secret lover back in Munchkinland."

"He's not from Munchkinland," Elphaba protested. And then realised he could very well be.

"But he is your secret lover?" Fiyero asked innocently.

Elphaba groaned and banged her head against a shelf. "Oh, Sweet Oz."

Fiyero laughed, and pulled her away from the shelf before she hurt herself. "Come on, Elphaba. Tell me. Who is he?"

Elphaba hesitated and then answered. "I don't know," she admitted.

Fiyero hid a grin and merely raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? You're writing to someone you don't know? Is that kind of dangerous? He could be an axe-murderer for all you know!"

Elphaba laughed, remembering her first letter to Dathien.

"I know, but I think I'm safe."

"So, how did you start writing to strange men?" Fiyero asked her, as she strolled down the aisles looking at different writing sets.

Elphaba chuckled, it sounded so weird when it was said like that.

"Um… I signed up for that pen pal program last semester," she admitted, looking at a purple and silver writing set with a leaf design in the corner.

"_Really?" _Fiyero replied.

He was finding it easier than he thought to pretend to be ignorant, like he was learning this for the first time.

"Is that so surprising?" Elphaba demanded.

"A little," he admitted, remembering how surprised he had been when he had learned who 'Fae' was.

"So, you're writing a guy from the CEC? Anyone I might know?"

Elphaba stalled. "Probably not."

"Why not? I knew pretty much everyone there," he replied.

Elphaba didn't doubt that. "Well, I don't even know who he is, so I doubt you'd know."

"Meaning?" Fiyero raised an eyebrow.

"Meaning… we use fake names. I have no clue who he is, and he has no clue who I am."

Elphaba dared to look at him, expecting to see him laughing at her or something. But instead, he just looked curious.

"What's your fake name?"

"Fae," she revealed.

"Fae," he repeated, and it sounded wonderful coming from his lips. "It's pretty. It suits you. How'd you come up with that?"

Elphaba shrugged. "I don't know really. I was just playing around with my own name and it came to me. I sort of took the 'Pha' from my name and twisted it to 'Fae.'"

Fiyero nodded. "I like it. So, you haven't met him?"

Elphaba decided to get the purple and silver one and took it to the counter to pay, Fiyero trailing behind her.

"Almost… once," she affirmed. "But… he didn't show."

Fiyero saw the shadow that fell across her face and felt a twinge of guilt.

"Something came up?"

"So he said," she agreed. "Or he saw me and left."

Fiyero remembered Galinda mentioning Elphaba's thoughts on that when they'd broken up, but he hadn't given it much thought. But seeing her face as she said it aloud…

"Elphaba, I'm sure that's not true," he said gently.

"What makes you so sure?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

He grinned. "He's been writing to you for how long now? Do you realise how much effort that is? Trust me, he didn't see you and leave. Otherwise he wouldn't be writing to you still."

Elphaba wasn't convinced. "You think so?" she asked doubtfully.

"I'm a guy. _Trust _me on this," he stressed as they left the store.

Elphaba snorted. "Trust you? What's the longest thing you've ever written? A post-it note?"

"Actually I think it was a grocery list a few years ago," Fiyero replied cheerfully and she laughed.

But his words stayed with her all day, until finally that night, she broke out her new writing set and began a new letter to Dathien.

"_Dear Dathien,_

_Sorry I haven't written much in the last few weeks. I was out for a few days with a terrible head cold, so all my efforts lately have been concentrated on making sure I didn't fall behind in anything in the lead up to finals. _

_And there's been a few things happening around Shiz. My best friend and her boyfriend broke up; and do you remember that other couple I wrote to you about? Well, the girl I was talking about is my sister, and her boyfriend broke up with her about the same time. She's incredibly hurt and I'm… I'm mad. _

_I don't know whether I'm madder at myself for not saying anything, or at this boy for stringing her along for so long before finally ending it and leaving her so hurt. _

_But my best friend seems to be coping fairly well. The split- although surprising, seems to have been mutual. _

_Of course, given the situation that I wrote to you about the other week, I can't help but feel guilty and responsible. And then to top everything off, because my life isn't confusifying enough, her ex-boyfriend (but apparently they're still friends?) wants to be friends with me._

_So, I've been making friends with this boy who's been so infuriating and annoying for months. And whilst at times, he can still be those things; I'm getting to know him and finding he can be a really nice person. Funny, and charming…_

_Sorry. You don't want to hear all this. I guess my feelings are still confusifying. _

_This won't be a particularly long letter, but I was thinking of something that I wanted to run past you._

_Do you think you'll be anywhere near Shiz in the next few weeks? Or before the end of semester? I realise with finals its unfortunate timing, but I thought if you were, perhaps we could reschedule our meeting that never happened? _

_If not, I can't promise it'll happen again anytime soon. I don't really leave home much during the summer… although I don't know where in Oz you live exactly. _

_Hoping to hear from you soon,_

_Fae."_

Fiyero was completely stunned when Elphaba came up to him the next day in the cafeteria and sat down.

"I wrote to Dathien," she announced to him and Galinda.

"Oh, something different," Galinda teased her best friend, trying very hard not to look at Fiyero.

Elphaba made a face at her. "I suggested we meet."

Galinda gasped and Fiyero froze.

"You _what? _Elphie, that's huge!" Galinda said excitedly.

Elphaba shrugged. "I don't know what he'll say, but I was thinking about it the last day or so, and… I thought it was time. One way or the other, I thought it should happen."

Galinda beamed, she knew that requesting a meeting was an even larger leap of faith for her than agreeing to a meeting.

When Elphaba went to go get lunch, the blonde turned to Fiyero.

"Is this it? Are you going to tell her?"

"I- I don't know," Fiyero stammered, panicked. "I think I need more time."

Galinda frowned. "Time to _what?"_

"Uh, solidify our friendship?" Fiyero suggested weakly. "Wow… I didn't see that coming."

"Me neither," Galinda admitted. "But I think it's a good sign for her… and you, I guess. Why don't you wait until the letter comes and then decide what to do?"

"Yeah, okay," Fiyero agreed.

He was on tenterhooks for the next few days, practically stalking the mail cart for anything from the CEC and Lau.

When it finally came and he read Elphaba's words, he relaxed. The timing of the visit was entirely up to him. He could take as much time as he needed, but he agreed, it should happen before the semester ended.

"_Dear Fae,_

_I would love to finally meet you, and I think it's definitely long overdue. You're right, with finals, the timing is a little awkward, but I think we can make it work._

_I'm not one hundred per cent sure of my schedule at the moment. There are finals, and I'm in the middle of a project or two I have to devote a bit of time and energy to at the moment. But when I have a better idea of how it's all coming together, I will write to you ASAP to arrange a date._

_Looking forward to it._

_Good luck in finals! I'm sure you'll be brilliant. _

_Dathien."_

**AN. I'm going to admit, I really love this chapter. Haha. **


	20. Chapter 20

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

******AN. Thank you for the birthday wishes everyone! I had an awesome day, and even got birthday tweets from Eden Espinosa, my favourite Fiyero, and all of the Australian cast of _Wicked _(well, all that have twitter)! **

******So, this is chapter 20 of 25. We're nearing the end guys! The ending leaves room for a sequel. As of yet, I have no actually story planned, but there is an opening. Of course, you might want to read the last 5 chapters before you decide if you want a sequel! **

**Twenty**

Galinda looked at Elphaba in distaste.

"Projects? He doesn't know when he can meet you because he has _projects? _What in Oz's name does _that _mean?"

Elphaba sighed. "I don't know, Galinda! How am I supposed to know? That's not even what I asked you."

"Sorry, Elphie," Galinda apologised. "What was the question again?"

"Do you think he really has 'projects' or whatever to work on, or is he just trying to get out of meeting with me?"

Galinda looked at her best friend sympathetically. "Elphie, of _course _he wants to meet you! I'm sure he's telling the truth, I'm just not sure what 'projects' mean."

"It could just be exams. _Some _people actually study for finals, you know," Elphaba replied teasingly.

Galinda almost scoffed, highly doubting how much studying Fiyero was doing, but said nothing.

"Are you sure he definitely calls them projects?" she asked.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, and handed Galinda the note. "Here, just read it for yourself."

Galinda was surprised. "You said they were personal!"

"They _are_, but there's nothing personal in this one. Just read it," Elphaba waved the piece of paper around until Galinda took it.

"Hmm… projects," she sighed, feeling a strange feeling in her stomach as she saw Fiyero's handwriting, but with the foreign signature of 'Dathien' at the end of the note.

"It's probably just a school thing. Now can we move on, please?" Elphaba asked and Galinda agreed.

"Fine."

But when she had a moment alone with Fiyero, the blonde couldn't help but bring it up again.

"What are you talking about with your 'projects'?" she demanded, using air quotes.

Fiyero was bewildered. "What?"

"When you wrote to Elphie, you said you can't meet her at the moment because you're working on some 'projects'. What does that mean?"

Fiyero sighed and rolled his eyes. "Galinda, I'm just taking your advice."

Galinda blinked. "My advice? What advice?"

"To become friends with Elphaba, to let her get to know me," he reminded her. "I don't want to meet her until I'm sure that we are friends."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "In case it makes a difference when I tell her the truth."

Galinda stared at him for a moment, then her annoyance vanished and her face softened. "You really do love her. I've never seen you put this much effort into _anything _before."

Fiyero reddened slightly and shifted uncomfortably, vividly reminded that he was talking to his ex-girlfriend here about her best friend.

"Yeah, well…"

Galinda seemed to know what was going through his head and smiled slightly.

"Fiyero, there's no point being shy about it. It's obvious."

That startled Fiyero. "It is? Do you think Elph-"

"Elphaba has no clue," she assured him. "At least… I don't think she does. She hasn't said anything to me if she does. Has she written anything to you- well, Dathien, about it?"

Fiyero thought about it. "No," he answered finally.

There were the occasional references to her own confusifying feelings towards him (Fiyero, not Dathien), but she'd never mentioned anything about Fiyero's feelings towards her. And he wasn't one hundred per cent sure what she felt towards _Dathien_, although Galinda was happy to share her suspicions with him.

And he wasn't sure how to bring it up with her. At least, not as Fiyero.

"_So, you're now friends with your best friend's ex-boyfriend? That sounds… awkward, especially with everything you've told me about him. But if he wants to be friends, that's a good sign, right? That he likes you, I mean."_

But her reply didn't seem that confident.

"_I guess so. It's strange, we're from totally different circles… but I guess so are my best friend and I, but it works. And yes, it is awkward at times. I still have those feelings for him, and I know I shouldn't (even if he and my best friend aren't dating anymore), but I'm just… confusified. _

_The more I get to know him, the more I like him, which doesn't help the situation. But it's only been about three weeks and I'm sure it's just a crush. It'll fade in time, I'm sure. But thank you for asking."_

Fiyero had, for a long time, felt his heart jump every time he saw "Fae's" handwriting, that wasn't a secret. But he still got a shock a few days after this exchange when he leaned over to ask Elphaba a question in class one day, and saw pages of notes in Fae's small, neat writing.

Before, they'd hardly been friends, so Fiyero hadn't looked or noticed her handwriting, if he'd even ever seen it. But when he saw it now, his heart still skipped a beat, although he knew it was only history notes, which was hardly interesting.

But she must have noticed something on his face, because she frowned.

"What?" she whispered and Fiyero froze for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Never mind. I forgot what I was going to ask."

Elphaba accepted that and turned back to her notes, even if she always lamented how much the quality of teaching and her enjoyment of history had gone down in the last month or so- since Dr Dillamond's removal.

And in recent weeks, Fiyero had found himself being extra careful not to give Elphaba any chance to see his handwriting- in case she should (and she most definitely would) recognise it as "Dathien's" handwriting, and demand an explanation. He didn't want to risk that happening until he was ready.

But even as he was learning more about Elphaba in person, he was still learning about her through her letters.

"_I got asked the other day what we write about," _she wrote one day. _"It's not the first time I've been asked that, and I still struggled with an answer. I think the first time I said "nothing", which is both true and false._

_There's some letters where we seem to talk about everything, and they're deep and meaningful. And then there's some letters (more often than not, I think) where we talk about nothing. And sometimes that's because there isn't much going on, or we're trying to lighten the tone from several deep and heavy letters._

_But sometimes it's because it's easier to write about nothing than it is to write about something, isn't it? I'm reminded of a quote by my favourite poet, Emely Dickinson: "Saying nothing… sometimes says the most."_

_And I think that's true. It's the letters about nothing that tell me something big is coming up, that there's something that needs to be talked about. Does that make sense or am I reading too much into this? _

_I guess you can tell this is a "nothing" letter. Or is it a "something" letter? I'm not even sure I know anymore. There's a time when nothing becomes something, and something pretends to be nothing. _

_To be honest? I think there is something… or maybe I'm using writing to you as an excuse to delay studying. That's not something that I do a lot. Mostly because I want to do well, and I know the more I study the more prepared for finals I'll be; but also because I know it makes more sense to get it over with. And it keeps my mind busy, gives me something to focus on instead of leaving me to my own thoughts._

_But finals are approaching, which means the end of semester is approaching. I'm not looking forward to going home. It's going to be such a long summer... I've told you about my father, so it's no secret as to why I'm dreading it. And no matter how well I do in the exams, it won't change anything about how he feels towards me._

_But I suppose I should just get it over with. Not studying isn't going to slow down time!_

_-Fae."_

Fiyero wrinkled his nose. As much as he wasn't a poetry fan, he was an Emely Dickinson fan even less. He'd had to study her at one of his previous schools, and had not enjoyed it at all. He found her poetry confusifying, dull and really, _really _depressing.

But at the same time, he could get what might appeal about her words to Elphaba. But still…

**AN. Yes, Emely Dickinson is the Ozian Emily Dickinson. And this is there for a reason! **

**My latest blog post also is a debriefing of all the fics I have planned for the future... minus 2, because one I'm not sure I'm I'll actually write it and the other because it's not in my "stories in progress" folder yet and I forgot :/ **

**www vinkunwildflowerqueen blogspot com (there's a dot between each word obviously!)**


	21. Chapter 21

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

******AN. Looks like everyones leaning towards wanting a sequel too! I know that you all want to see what happens once they finally meet and get together, but I didn't want to rush that and if I did all that _and _the whole story of their relationship, who knows how long this story would be!**

**Twenty One**

When it had come to picking 'Dathien' as his alias, Fiyero hadn't given it much thought. It was his childhood imaginary friend, and that was good enough.

But then one day, as they were all studying together in the library (except Boq- who was still in Elphaba's bad books after what had happened with him and Nessa, and Nessa wasn't ready to spend time with him yet anyway); Galinda, who was bored, decided to change the subject.

"What do you think 'Dathien' means?"

Elphaba looked up from her books, confused. "What?"

"Dathien. Do you think it means anything?" Galinda asked again.

Fiyero gritted his teeth. Galinda kept finding ways to bring his alter ego up in conversations, why he wasn't sure. To try and tempt him to reveal himself?

Nessa laughed. "I think it's just a name, Galinda. The name Elphaba uses doesn't mean anything, right, Fabala?"

"Right," Elphaba agreed. "It's just a play on a syllable in my name."

"Do you think Dathien could be the same? That he only changed his name slightly to hide his identity?" Galinda continued to pry.

Fiyero sighed. He didn't want to be drawn into this conversation, but he clearly didn't have a choice.

"So, what's his real name then, Galinda?" he asked.

Galinda was tempted for a moment to respond with 'Fiyero' but then she decided that revelation wouldn't be very romantic, so she changed her mind.

"I don't know. Dath...ion? Dathion? Dathian?"

"Dothien? Duthion? Galinda, substituting vows could take a very long time; and is hardly a good strategy," Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"What about a middle name?" Nessarose suggested. "Maybe it's his middle name?"

"Or a relative's name?" Elphaba added.

"Maybe it's an anagram?" Fiyero chimed in, deciding to play along.

Elphaba laughed. "What can you make from Dathien?"

Galinda flipped to a blank page in her notebook and wrote it out. Then they all put their heads together and started listing things.

"Ethiand?" Fiyero began.

"That's not a name!" Elphaba shot down.

"It is in the Vinkus," he shot back, which was sort of true. It was actually Ethian.

"Neihtad? Dathien backwards?" Galinda suggested.

"Also not a name."

"Well, why don't you suggest a name, Miss Brainiac?" Fiyero challenged her.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but obediently studied the letters for a moment.

"Thedian," she announced.

Fiyero stared at the paper in amazement, for Thedian _was_ a popular Ozian name, and was actually the name of Fiyero's great-uncle.

And then the ideas started getting sillier, less related to anything that could vaguely resemble a name and more so anything that formed a word.

"Head Tin!" Fiyero suggested.

Galinda giggled. "And what does that suggest?"

"That his head's made of tin?" Fiyero replied as though it were obvious.

"What about the rest of him?" Elphaba asked, her eyes dancing with laughter.

Fiyero winked. "That's what he wants you to find out for yourself."

She blushed and laughed, a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles as the librarian looked over at them disapprovingly.

Galinda's side ached from laughing so much. "What about 'Hated In'?"

"Hated in… all provinces of Oz?" Fiyero suggested.

"Hated… in several languages?" Nessa countered.

"Hated in reference to his habit of nail biting," Galinda sniggered.

Fiyero raised an eyebrow at her. "Nail biting, Glin?"

She shrugged innocently. "Or something else."

"Hand tie?" Elphaba spoke up.

"Hand tie?" Fiyero repeated. "His hand wears a tie?"

"His hand is tied!" Galinda giggled.

Nessa frowned at the paper. "You can make 'than die' out of it too…."

Fiyero laughed. "He would rather eat a live snake than die."

"I think if you ate a live snake you _would _die," Elphaba said dryly.

"And wouldn't you rather do anything than die?" Galinda pointed out.

This went on for a while, until the anagrams no longer made any real sense, and they were in danger of being asked to leave the library- which was a new experience for Elphaba.

Finally, they decided to leave (before they were kicked out, as Elphaba beseeched them) and they headed to the _Wilted Rose._

Fiyero was carrying some of Elphaba's many books, and when they sat down, he glanced at the titles.

One of them was _First Impressions._

"You've already read this," he said in surprise, holding it up.

Elphaba looked at it, and her gaze flickered to him, recalling the night in this very café that he had seen her reading it.

"Yes. And now I'm re-reading it," she replied.

"Re-reading it? What's the point of that?" he asked.

She stared at him. "Seriously? You haven't liked a book so much you re-read it?"

Fiyero snorted. "Elphaba, this is me we're talking about. I'm lucky if I read a book, period."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "You told me you'd read this."

"I have," Fiyero admitted. "But once. I wouldn't read it again. What's the point? You know what happens!"

That was true, but Elphaba was still amazed by the concept of not reading books more than once.

"I could never be with someone who doesn't re-read books," Elphaba shook her head faintly.

Fiyero stiffened for a moment.

"Well, that confirms it. We could never be together," he said finally, making an effort to keep his voice casual and light.

Galinda shot him an odd glance, but Elphaba's expression was one of confusion and wariness.

"Oh. I guess not."

Galinda hastily jumped in before it turned awkward. "I could never be with someone shorter than me," she admitted. "I just can't."

Fiyero laughed, that didn't surprise him, but he was grateful for her input. It kept the mood light.

"I could never be with someone who isn't willing to let me lead," Nessarose spoke up, and they all looked at her.

"I'm going to be Governor one day," she reminded them. "I can't be with someone who isn't comfortable with my being in charge."

"I'm guessing you don't have the height issue Galinda does either," Fiyero added. "Which is probably a good thing considering you're from Munchkinland."

Elphaba elbowed Fiyero hard in the side, as Nessa smiled uncomfortably wondering if Fiyero was being serious or not.

"I could never be with someone who takes less than ten minutes to get ready," Galinda said flatly.

"Uh, Glin, you just ruled out pretty much all guys," Fiyero pointed out.

She sighed. "I just don't understand how you can reach your best appearance in _ten minutes!"_

"I have a feeling that's being directed at me too," Elphaba teased her friend.

Galinda giggled. "So we could never be together then."

Fiyero's face fell. "Way to kill that dream, Galinda."

They all laughed, except Nessa, who blushed and shifted in her wheelchair in discomfort.

"I could never be with anyone who took their appearances more seriously than their studies," Elphaba admitted.

"Really?" Fiyero raised an eyebrow at her.

She shrugged. "Looks fade eventually. An education lasts forever."

Their conversation was interrupted as the waiter came over to take their order. Fiyero wrinkled his nose as Elphaba ordered an iced tea.

"How can you drink that stuff?"

She laughed. "Because it's delicious. You don't like it?"

"No! You drink tea _hot, _not cold. Why would you ice it? It's like melting ice cream. Pointless."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you don't like iced tea."

"I suppose you could never be with someone who doesn't like iced tea," he teased.

"Maybe," she teased back.

He laughed.

"What about you, Fiyero?" Galinda asked. "What are your deal breakers?"

Elphaba grimaced, which Fiyero caught.

"What?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "All the things I could say right now to that if we weren't friends."

"Like that'll stop you," he retorted and she laughed.

"I'll reserve judgement until you answer. You might surprise me."

Fiyero chuckled, but answered nonetheless. "I…" he took a moment to think about what to say. He couldn't resist playing with Elphaba a little bit.

"I could never be with someone… who likes poetry."

Elphaba's eyebrow rose. "Excuse me?"

"I don't get it," he admitted. "Why don't they just come out and say what they have to say? What's the need for all the metaphors and symbolism? And don't even get me started on the rhyming."

"Not all poems rhyme," Elphaba pointed out.

"And they're the worst ones! How are they even poems? I thought the whole point of a poem was that they _do _rhyme? People like… that dead chick…"

"Well _that _narrows it down," Elphaba said sarcastically.

"What's-her-name… Emely Dickinson. I do not like her."

As Emely Dickinson was one of Elphaba's favourite poets, Elphaba was almost speechless.

"Why? What's wrong with Emely Dickinson?" she demanded.

"She writes about death all the time, it's so depressing! And what does she even mean? '_Because I could not stop for Death-/ He kindly stopped for me-/ the carriage held but just ourselves-/ and immortality.' _Seriously, what is she on about?"

Elphaba was staring at him wide-eyed. "You're kidding me, right? Yet you know it well enough to quote it."

Fiyero waved a dismissive hand. "I had to study it once. At some school or something."

Elphaba was still in shock, and Fiyero grinned to himself as their orders came. He hoped Elphaba wasn't too firm on her deal-breakers. He was more than willing to make an exception for his own.


	22. Chapter 22

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

******AN. Also, chookas to the Australian cast of Wicked who have their first show in Korea tonight! **

**Twenty-Two**

At times, Fiyero could be accused of abusing his power slightly in the situation he found himself in, knowing he was writing to Elphaba, and her having no clue.

And yes, he felt bad about that, and he was worried that was one of the things she might kill him over when she learned the truth; but it was also helping him _a lot._

Although Galinda had told him she was sure Elphaba had feelings towards Dathien that weren't strictly platonic, Fiyero didn't just want to take her word on it. So, he decided that a conversation with Elphaba would have a dual purpose- to try and find out just how she felt about Dathien; and also to see where their friendship stood. If she was comfortable enough to admit anything about it to him, when she hadn't even said as much to Galinda, that was a good sign, right?

"So, you've been writing to Dathien for how long?" he asked Elphaba one day as they sat in the cafeteria waiting for Galinda to join them.

Elphaba paused in thought. "Well, the program started in October, and it's May, so… seven months. Wow."

"You seem surprised," Fiyero noted, although he was surprised too.

Elphaba struggled for a moment with words then shrugged. "It feels longer than that. Like I've known him forever."

That was exactly how Fiyero felt. The nature of the conversations they'd had, he wouldn't have with people who had known him since he was born. But he thought nothing of discussing them with Fae.

"You must be pretty good friends by now."

Elphaba smiled. "How mad do you think Galinda would be if I said he could be my best friend?"

Fiyero laughed. "Yeah, I wouldn't," he advised. "Is that true, though?"

Elphaba hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe," she admitted. "I've never really had friends, let alone a best friend. But… I think I've told him things I'd never tell Galinda. Just because I don't think she'd understand. She'd _try, _but she wouldn't. Because they're things she's never had to experience or feel or think about."

"And Dathien does?" he prodded gently.

"I don't know. Maybe he has, maybe he hasn't and he's just really good at pretending he has. I guess we'll find out when we meet."

The one thing that had been bugging Fiyero about this, was Elphaba's motivation for wanting to meet. He remembered clearly what his had been- that panic that he was being tied down with Galinda and thinking he didn't feel what he was supposed to feel for a serious girlfriend, but he might feel that for the girl he'd never met.

But what was Elphaba's motivation?

"Can I ask you something?" he asked her, leaning forward.

Elphaba looked wary, but nodded. "Ok," she agreed slowly.

"What made you decide to meet him again? I mean… what's going to happen when you meet this guy?"

The question came as a shock to Elphaba, she'd never expected it and truthfully, she had no clue how to answer.

"I guess… after the first time… when we were supposed to meet and he didn't come… I wasn't game enough to suggest another meeting. Because I thought there was a chance that he had…"

"Seen you and left," Fiyero finished quietly, remembering her confessing as much to him in the stationary store.

She nodded, looking at the table. "Yes. But then _you _said that… that he wouldn't still be making the effort to write if he had."

"Which I stand by," Fiyero nodded.

Elphaba gave a small shrug. "It just got me thinking, that's all. So, I figured… why not? It's worth a shot, right?"

"Right," he agreed.

Then she looked at him, seeming slightly lost. "I don't know what's going to happen after. What could happen?"

Fiyero almost smiled. "Well… what if he wants to date you?"

She scoffed and laughed. "Yeah, right."

He raised an eyebrow pointedly. "Why is that so funny?"

She rolled her eyes at though it was obvious. "Yero, I'm green," she reminded him.

Fiyero rolled his own eyes back at her. "Yes. You're also smart, funny and beautiful. Why wouldn't he want to date you?"

Elphaba blushed furiously, and couldn't speak for a moment. He thought she was beautiful?

"If it was you and you saw me, wouldn't you be mad that I hadn't mentioned that I was _green? _He knows there's a green girl at Shiz, we've talked about her. He just doesn't know it's me," she grimaced.

Fiyero once again almost smiled, but met her gaze steadily. "I'd be surprised," he admitted honestly, remembering how shocked he had been.

"But I think… I wouldn't be mad. I'd want to know why you hadn't mentioned it though."

Elphaba smiled sadly. "Because in my experience, people don't take the news well."

"Well, why not tell him from the start? Why not write to him and say 'hi, I'm Elphaba and I'm green'?" Fiyero challenged her.

She blinked, and Fiyero thought he saw tears in her eyes, which stunned him. "I didn't plan to sign up, Fiyero. I was having a bad day, and I had no one here. Galinda and I hated each other, Nessa wanted as little to do with me as possible… I had no one. And I was lonely. And I had _one _moment where I thought it would be really nice to have someone to talk to, and those damn posters were all over campus. So, I started writing. And I wasn't going to admit to a complete stranger that I was a _freak_, because then there was absolutely _zero_ chance they'd write back."

Fiyero was alarmed when her voice cracked. He hadn't seen her this upset over anything since the Lion Cub.

"Hey," he said quickly, jumping up and moving around the table so he was sitting next to her, instead of opposite her.

"You're not a freak, got it?" he admonished her gently. "You're unique. You're Elphaba…. And you're not alone anymore."

She smiled faintly, and he was relieved as the tears he knew she was fighting back did not fall and she seemed to regain control of herself. When she spoke again, her voice was stronger.

"The more letters we wrote… it seemed too late to mention it then," she said simply. "I just… I hope he's not too mad when he finds out that I've been lying to him for seven months."

And then Fiyero saw what Galinda had seen.

"You like him."

Elphaba looked startled and then she blushed. "Don't be silly. We're just friends."

Fiyero grinned, ridiculously happy about this. "You _like_ him. Come on, admit it," he nudged her gently. "I won't tell Galinda, I promise."

Elphaba chuckled but shrugged. "I don't know… maybe," she admitted. "I know it's stupid…"

"It's not," he replied quickly and she looked at him oddly.

But Galinda arrived before anything more could be said, and Elphaba leapt on the chance to change the conversation.

So, that was one problem solved.

The next thing Fiyero did was write to Fae, hoping for more information on how she felt about him- as Fiyero. But he realised how unfair it was for him to have the advantage here, so he decided to try and even the playing field slightly.

"_Hey Fae,_

_First of all, I wanted to update you. My projects are coming along pretty well, and I'm fairly happy with my progress. I'm hoping to know in the next week or so how much longer I'll need and then I'll write to you as soon as anything's definite to arrange a time to meet._

_But I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten, and I'm trying to make this happen. I really want to meet you._

_But how are you? How's everything going? I know you've been struggling a bit with your feelings for- what is he now, your best friend's ex-boyfriend? Do I still have to use that label, or can I just call him your friend now? Secret crush? Sorry, I'm teasing. But seriously, I want to know how you're going. _

_I can only imagine how hard it is for you, especially when you can't exactly talk it over with your best friend to try and sort your feelings out. But if you want to try it via letter, I'm open to listen and help where I can._

_But I actually wanted your advice on something if you don't mind. It's sort of a similar nature to what you're going through, so I thought if anyone can give me advice, it'd be you. _

_See, there's this girl. _

_And, to borrow a quote from six year olds, I really like her. As in, "like" like. You know, in that way. Haha. Sorry- there's no good way to say that without sounding like an idiot. Even now, the words look dumb on my page. But it's true. _

_So, this girl… we haven't always gotten along. But I'd love to… well, to date her. (Seriously, someone needs to come up with a way of saying these things that don't make people want to bang their head against a wall or something that causes a lot of physical pain. Am I right?) My issue that I need your advice on is this: she's the type of girl that if I told her directly, she'd probably think I was making fun of her._

_Any tips on how to do it so she knows I mean it? Any thoughts are appreciated!_

_Thanks,_

_Dathien."_

When Elphaba got the letter, two things surprised her: first that Dathien wanted _her _advice on love, a subject which Elphaba hardly considered herself an expert on; and secondly, the sting of pain that came with the knowledge Dathien was interested in a girl- who was clearly not her.

It was a pain that only just came second to the one she had felt every time she thought of Fiyero, and her feelings towards him. And as she read the letter alone in her usual corner of the library, Elphaba had to laugh at herself, if only to prevent herself from crying.

"Of course neither of them is interested in you," she scolded herself. "Idiot. What were you even considering the idea for?"

She _almost _didn't answer. She couldn't bear the idea of writing to Dathien and giving him advice on how to ask out another girl. But she did, figuring she had complained to him enough about her complicated feelings for Fiyero more than enough and probably owed him for reading her rants patiently and taking an interest.

"_Dear Dathien,_

_I guess 'friend' is an adequate label, and definitely shorter to write. The situation is as complicated and painful as ever. _

_The truth is (I'm going to take you up on your offer, so beware!) is that… I won't go so far as to say that I'm in love with him, because I'm fairly ignorant as to what that is supposed to feel like and the process with how it occurs. But… I think I could love him. Or maybe I do already… I don't know. The timing and how fast everything has happened just confusifies me. I could love him, but… as I've said before, I'm not that girl. It's not going to happen._

_Like I said, it's complicated. We're just from very different worlds, and even though we are "friends" now, I suppose (if you have to label it), there's a difference between friendship and romance. And I cannot believe I just wrote that._

_But we have become friends, and there's times… it hurts. It hurts a lot, and I feel like I'm torturing myself. I wish I still hated him. If only because it would be a different kind of pain to be around him. _

_As for your situation, the best advice I can give you, is that actions speak louder than words. You don't think she'll believe you if you tell her how you feel? Then find a way to show her. Sometimes people need to see something before they'll believe it. _

_Well, I have a study session, so I'd better go. I'm glad your projects are coming along satisfactory and I hope to hear from you soon. _

_From,_

_Fae."_.

**AN. I do love the Elphaba/Fiyero moment in the cafeteria!**


	23. Chapter 23

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

******AN. I want to do a shout out to 3Mindy3, who was my 100th, 200th and 250th reviewer (totally coincidentally!) and to PocketSevens, who was lucky 300th! **

******And I love everyone who as reviewed just as much! Thank you so much!**

******Most importantly, this chapter is dedicated to my beautiful friend Liana, AKA wickedozgirl. I wish I could be there to give you a hug, but for now, this will have to suffice. I love you! **

**Twenty-Three**

Although Fiyero was confident that he and Elphaba were making great strides in their friendship, and he hoped they were near the point where he could reveal his identity and his feelings to her; there was still the problem of just what to say when he did so.

Ever since he'd recieved her last letter, the one where she confessed that she might love him- or at least might be able to love him, it was getting harder and harder not to just confess his own feelings for her. But when he tried to imagine just how he would do so, he got stuck.

He was so much better at expressing everything on paper, he was sure if he tried to tell her how he felt and tried to explain what had led to this point, he'd mess everything up. And it was like he'd written to "Fae"; he was worried she wouldn't believe him. But then he remembered Elphaba's advice- actions speak louder than words.

So, finally he decided the best thing to do was to sit down and write a letter. He'd had more than enough practice in the last few months- but this would have one small difference.

"_Dear Elphaba,_

_This is the first letter where I can address you by your real name. This is the first letter where I can't (or won't) hide myself from you._

_I feel like there's so much to explain, and I hope I can do it justice. _

_You told me what motivated you to sign up for the pen pal program, and honestly, it was a moving story. I feel a little bad my story and reasons for signing up are nothing like that._

_Basically, I wasn't exactly paying attention when the Headmaster of the CEC was explaining the program to us. I was caught out and "volunteered" to sign up. You can imagine my enthusiasm for that idea._

_And then I got the first letter from you. Or "Fae", as it were. Once I got over being insulted at your implication I was or could be an axe murderer :P, I figured it couldn't hurt to go along with your idea for fake names._

_All I knew about you was that you were a girl, and in my experience… well, to put it lightly, some girls are crazy. And although there are ways to tell the crazy ones from the non-crazy ones, it's harder on paper. _

_I wish I had a great story to say where I got "Dathien" from; in hindsight "Fae" is really clever. Dathien is actually the name of my childhood imaginary friend. And yes, you could laugh that I had an imaginary friend, but as an only child and a prince, I didn't have that many friends. Plus, he was awesome. He could fly. _

_I wasn't planning to actually write back to you. Or if I did, it would have been a three line note a month after you'd first sent the letter to me. _

_Maybe it was that you were willing to come straight out and ask if I was planning to kill you in your sleep, but for some reason I was compelled to write back._

_And before I knew it, I was looking forward to every letter you sent. _

_Of course, now that I know you, it's obvious that you're a genius; but even then… you said things about the world I'd never realised were true until I read them in your handwriting. _

_When I got expelled from the CEC, I knew I'd be coming to Shiz (it's pretty much the only school left in Oz that I could go to). And I could have… maybe I should have, written to you and told you the truth about who I was. By then… I think you were my best friend. _

_You knew me better than anyone, and I didn't like the idea of lying to you. _

_And I know I'm not going to get any sympathy from you about this, but the thing is… I knew we had this connection, and I knew you knew it too. I was worried that if I told you who I was, you'd think that connection was something more than friendship. Like I said, I'll get no sympathy from you about this, but similar things have happened to me before. Seriously, I've had a girl stalk me all night because I sustained eye contact with her for maybe ten seconds._

_So, I said nothing. My roommate from the CEC has been collecting your letters and forwarding them to me here._

_The night we were supposed to meet… I was so nervous. I'd spent half my time at Shiz so far looking at every girl I passed, wondering if this was the girl I'd been writing to. The girl who could apparently see the world so different to anyone else. _

_I never in a million years guessed it was you. You, Miss Fae, are an excellent writer. It was only later I was able to re-read your letters and realise all the times you were talking about me, or Galinda, or Nessa. _

_And you know that at that time, in reality, we weren't anything resembling friends. So to go to the Wilted Rose and see you there of all people… I wasn't completely thrillified. I wasn't planning to go in. I was just going to walk away. I thought that if I walked in there and admitted the truth to you, you'd laugh in my face. I know that the way I act doesn't match up with what I wrote in my letters. _

_So, I went inside and told you nothing, and instead insulted you and was horrendible to you. And I'm sorry. I've wished so many times since I could change it. _

_Knowing that you were Fae… and really since that I night I still think of you as Fae… it changed things. I had more and more trouble separating Elphaba from Fae. You put up these walls to keep people out. And you're sarcastic and defensive… but none of these walls were in your letters when you were writing as Fae. _

_So, through Fae, I got to see behind Elphaba's walls. And that confusified me- a lot. Especially when you told me about your father. That's why I proposed we make an effort to get along, and get to know one another. Because I wanted to know if Fae was there in person too. Honestly, I'm not sure who I fell in love with first, "Fae" or Elphaba._

_Oz, the Lion Cub… Elphaba… you were right, in your letter about that day. We had a moment. And it terrified me. It changed everything. Because for a moment, all your walls were gone and I could see everything I had come to love about the person in those letters._

_Yes, I said love. I love you, Elphaba, and I don't know how long ago it happened exactly, but I didn't realise it until the moment in that clearing. _

_But I couldn't be sure how'd you react if I told you then. So, I've been waiting. Waiting and becoming your friend, and getting to know you and letting you know me. Hopefully letting you know the side of me that comes out when I write to you. _

_And I'm trying to wait for the perfect moment to tell you the truth, and then hope you don't hate me too much when you do find out. _

_I don't know quite when that is yet, and I don't know how much longer I can wait; but I want you to know- I love you. Like I've never loved anyone before. I love the way you see the world, I love that you stand up for those who can't for themselves, I love you're willing to give people second chances. Because if you didn't, you wouldn't be friends with Galinda, and you wouldn't be friends with me. _

_I wish I could explain why there's such a big difference between "Fiyero" and "Dathien". Or that it was a good reason. But it's not. I was young, I was bored, and I was running away from any responsibility. That involved a lot of alcohol and doing the wrong thing. And I found and abused any perks I found that came with being a prince. _

_I don't love school, in case you haven't guessed. I can be good at it, if I'm prepared to do the work, and a lot of the time I'm not. And since I was a child, my parents told me all about how one day I would be king, and have the responsibility of making sure all the people in the Vinkus were cared for, and were happy and had a good life._

_And that was a lot of pressure. And stressful. So, I found it easier to think less. And thus, my "dancing through life" motto was born. I know it's stupid, but in the beginning it was my way of coping. And then it's what I became known for, and it had to stick._

_We've had so many conversations about society and the social ladder, and what that all means. People who are on the top want to stay on the top, because they know if they fall to the middle, they'll never get back up._

_Sound familiar? _

_But along the way… before I was writing to you (I think) I wanted that to change. But I was afraid, not sure how, and it was just easier to keep things the way they were. But now… you make me want to change, no matter how hard it is. _

_You don't even see how much you've changed me, but you have. It's one of the reasons I love you. _

_Since I met you (well, started writing to you, but you know what I mean), I see the world through your eyes. And I wish that you could see yourself through my eyes._

_Do you remember what you wrote to me when I asked you about the infamous green girl I'd heard existed at Shiz? I asked you to describe the skin in more detail. Like a shade, for instance. And you couldn't pinpoint a shade, but you said "it's not a pretty green."_

_Well, you're right. It's not pretty, it's beautiful. You. Are. Beautiful. And I can't believe that you don't see it. Have you ever seen yourself when you're concentrating? You get this adorable little wrinkle on your forehead and you're so absorbed in what you're doing that you appear a million miles away. The whole world just doesn't exist until you need it to. _

_I love that. _

_I love how you are so protective of Nessa. I know now that you've taken care of her all your life. And I know you don't feel like you have a maternal instinct, but you do. Because I see it when you're with Nessa. _

_You are constantly putting her, and everyone else before yourself. I understand that's the way you were raised, but you don't do it just out of obligation or because you feel you have to. You do it because you care about the people in your life. _

_And I hope I never take for granted that I have you in my life- in whatever way that may be. _

_And even though I am planning to tell you the truth in person and to tell you just who it is you've been writing to for so long; I want you to know that I've loved writing to you. And my telling the truth, if you'll let me, won't change that or mean an end to the letters. It will just change the way the letters are delivered to you._

_I promise, you will read this letter one day. One day soon. _

_And I hope, that however you react to the truth when you learn who "Dathien" is, that you do read this. _

_Always yours,_

_Fiyero."_


	24. Chapter 24

******DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**Twenty-Four**

The time had come.

Mostly because Fiyero was fast running _out_ of time. Finals were a week away, which would extend over a two week period, and then they would have three days before semester was officially over and people would be going home.

_Elphaba_ would be going home.

"Should I do it before or after finals?" Fiyero asked Galinda and Boq.

He had been sitting with Boq in the _Wilted Rose _when Galinda had entered, seen him, and stormed over to demand _why _"Dathien" hadn't written to Elphaba yet to arrange another meeting.

Then Fiyero had to explain that Boq knew, and that Galinda knew, and now they were both sitting down with him, trying to "help."

Galinda thought about that. "I say after. If you distract Elphaba before exams, she'll kill you even if she does love you back."

"True," Fiyero acknowledged. "But if I have to wait until after finals, _I _may kill me," he replied earnestly.

"Well, basically you're dead either way then," Boq pointed out and Fiyero glared at him.

"Thanks, Boq. That's helpful."

"Fiyero, just _do it_ and get it over with," Galinda begged him. "Or I may die, and I'm already worried Elphie's going to kill me when she finds out I've known for so long."

"Galinda, you've known for about a month," Fiyero pointed out.

"Which is a month longer than she's known," Galinda countered.

Fiyero sighed. "Ok, I'll write to her and set up a meeting," he agreed.

Galinda beamed. "Wonderful."

"Uh, Galinda?" Boq asked quickly as the blonde stood up. "Does- does Elphaba still want to kill _me?"_

Galinda paused. "Well, Nessa's doing better, so maybe not _kill_ you…"

"Thanks," Boq said glumly.

Fiyero waited until his ex-girlfriend had left before turning to the Munchkin. "So, you're waiting until it's safe to be around Elphaba before asking Galinda out?"

"Pretty much," Boq agreed, and then looked horrified. "Wait, what?"

Fiyero raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to date Galinda? Isn't that why you broke up with Nessa?"

"You _know?" _Boq gaped and Fiyero rolled his eyes.

"Boq, please. Everyone knows."

And then he left.

He headed back to campus and by coincidence was walking past the library as Elphaba exited with a large stack of books.

"Here, let me help," he offered, taking half the stack.

"Yero, I'm perfectly capable-"

"I know you are, but I'm already holding them," Fiyero cut off her protests with a grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Thank you," she said reluctantly.

They made light conversation as they headed up to Elphaba and Galinda's dorm room, and placed the books on Elphaba's desk.

"So, listen," Fiyero said as he stood awkwardly in the doorway. "I was thinking about something the other day…"

"Yes?" Elphaba asked slowly, noticing his tone.

"I owe you an apology… belated as it is."

"For what?" she frowned.

Fiyero took a breath. In his mind, this was the last thing he could think of that he had to do before revealing the truth.

"For almost knocking you over. The day I arrived at Shiz," he replied quietly.

Elphaba's gaze met his in stunned silence for a moment, an odd expression on her face. Then she smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

"Do you think…?" Fiyero began and then trailed off.

"Think what?" she questioned.

Fiyero changed his mind, deciding it was a stupid thing to ask. "Never mind. I'll see you later."

"Fiyero, do I think what?" Elphaba encouraged, stepping towards him as he made to leave.

Fiyero paused uncertainly and then shrugged. "Do you think if that hadn't happened, or if I'd apologised straight away, instead of making dumb ass comments… do you think it'd be different between us?"

Elphaba's mouth went dry. "Different h-how?" she stammered.

He offered a faint smile. "I don't know, really. Maybe we would have been friends sooner?"

Elphaba tried to pretend that her heart hadn't sunk in disappointment that he hadn't said a different answer. She forced a light chuckle and sank down onto her bed, looking at the floor.

"Well, I don't know. I _am _still green, no matter what scenario we meet in. Unless you happened to meet me in a darkened room."

Fiyero frowned. "Fae…"

It slipped out before he could help it and her eyes flew to his, as wide as saucers. "What did you just call me?"

Fiyero winced. "Sorry," he apologised, coming back into the room. "I know… I know that's your thing with him… with Dathien. I just… you don't like 'Elphie' and… Fae suits you."

She blushed and lowered her gaze again. "Oh. I- I don't mind," she said truthfully. It had just shocked her to hear the alias fall so easily from his lips.

Fiyero made sure to subtly kick the door shut as he came back into the room, he didn't want any interruptions.

"I was just going to say… I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you when we first met. And no matter where or how we met… I shouldn't have said anything about your skin."

He sat down beside her and she looked at him with a small smile.

"You're hardly the first person, Yero," she said softly.

Fiyero reached over and took her hand. She stiffened at first, but when he didn't let go, she relaxed slightly.

"I've been thinking… about that day with the Lion Cub," he said carefully, watching her reactions.

"I think about that day a lot."

She said nothing for a long time, not even looking at him.

"So do I," she finally whispered.

Fiyero opened and closed his mouth, then cleared his throat. "Elphaba, I-"

The door opened suddenly and Galinda bounced in.

"Elphie, have you-"

She stopped as she registered seeing Fiyero sitting on Elphaba's bed beside Elphaba herself and their hands, which had hurriedly untangled when the door opened.

"Oh, sorry," she apologised, wondering what was going on. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No," Fiyero said hastily, standing up. "I'd better go, actually. I've got some letters to write."

He shot Galinda a significant glance, which she understood immediately, and beamed.

"Well, you'd better get a move on then," she said quickly and almost shoved him out the door.

Fiyero didn't even get to say good bye to Elphaba before the door was pretty much shut in his face.

But he obediently returned to his room, and wrote a note to Elphaba.

"_Dear Fae,_

_I'm going to be at Shiz the Saturday after finals end. Does that work for you? I was thinking we could meet around eleven? You name the place and I will be there._

_I promise._

_-Dathien."_

When the note got to Elphaba, she turned to Galinda.

"Where do I tell him to meet me? I don't want it to be the _Wilted Rose _again."

Galinda, who had been envisioning this moment a lot in her head the last month, didn't have to think for too long about it.

"What about Suicide Canal?" she suggested. "It's pretty and less crowded than an indoor meeting place would be. There's that beautiful old willow tree where you could meet."

It sounded good to Elphaba, so she wrote back and told Dathien the place.

But Galinda noticed her roommate seemed nervous.

"What's wrong, Elphie? You weren't this nervous about meeting him last time."

Elphaba sighed. "What if he doesn't show up again? Or what if he does and…"

Last time, she had been nervous about him learning the truth. This time, she just felt sick to her stomach.

Galinda smiled encouragingly. "Everything will work out the way it's meant to Elphie. I believe that."

Elphaba wasn't so sure.

**AN. I'm also going to close the poll on my profile when I post the last chapter, so your final chance to vote is now! If you don't know the story that the question is referring to, just pick which title would grab you most as a reader!**

**And just another question... this sequel... what does everyone want? I'm willing to take ideas and advice! Review or PM me!**


	25. Chapter 25

**********DISCLAIMER: **_**Wicked **_**was not my idea. Like I could create anything that amazing!**

**********AN. So I'm updating the last chapter a day earlier, mostly because I was worried some people would explode if I waited until Monday! Yes, we've come to the end! Thank you to everyone has reviewed or favourited, I'm glad you liked this story!**

**********This is another chapter that I re-wrote about 10 times, so I hope you like it!**

**********Also, yesterday was my Wicked anniversary- two years since the day I first saw the show! Can't believe it's only been two years!**

**Twenty-Five**

Finals passed in a blur for Fiyero. All he could think about was the day… he was counting each day off on a piece of paper that sat on his nightstand, and each day seemed to be movingly torturously slowly.

The day itself would go by quite fast and then Fiyero would go to tick another day off, and it seemed agonisingly painful that he could only tick off one day.

But he had actually studied hard for these exams, and even if he didn't remember the exam himself, he felt reasonably confident- which was huge for him.

But when he wasn't studying or in an exam, he was with Elphaba, trying to get last minute hints about what she was feeling about the situation.

"Are you nervous?" he asked her.

Elphaba thought about that for a long moment. "I'm not sure," she admitted.

Fiyero cocked his head. "How so?"

Elphaba let out a breath as she tried to explain. It was the night before, and the five of them (Boq was finally back in Elphaba's good graces after he'd helped Nessa during a pre-exam panic attack, and thus allowed to be included) had gone to dinner to celebrate the end of exams.

As they walked back to campus afterwards, Fiyero had fallen in step with Elphaba, a bit behind the others.

"What if he doesn't like me? I don't make the greatest first impression," she said simply.

Fiyero didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"He'll like you," he said finally.

"What makes you so sure?" she replied.

He smiled. "He already knows you, doesn't he? So there is no first impression to make. There's just you. And you, are wonderful."

She blushed. "And you, are full of it," she laughed lightly.

Fiyero slung an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe. But it's part of my charm," he grinned at her. "Besides, that is one hundred per cent true."

Elphaba smiled and discreetly shrugged out of his grasp, which he pretended not to notice.

"Do you think he's nervous?" she wondered aloud.

Fiyero didn't have to think about that. "I'd be terrified," he answered and she looked at him in surprise.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Definitely. There's this awesome girl you've been writing to for months now; you've already messed it up once by not showing up; and you don't know how she's going to react when she sees you. Of course he's terrified."

"What do you mean 'he doesn't know how she's going to react'?" Elphaba demanded.

Fiyero stalled. "Uh… just that….you probably have an idea of him in your head right?"

"Right," she agreed.

Fiyero shrugged. "So, what if that image in your head doesn't match up with who he is?"

"I'm not going to judge him on what he looks like, Fiyero," she replied. "I'm looking at his personality. If there's-"

She stopped talking abruptly and Fiyero glanced at her quickly. "If there's what?" he asked.

"If there's that connection I feel with him when we write to one another," she admitted softly. "I don't feel that close with many people."

Fiyero debated for a moment whether or not to ask, but then went with it. "Who else do you feel that with?"

He wasn't sure if she was going to answer, but then she did. "Galinda, for one. Except when she's going on about how I can colour co-ordinate my wardrobe with my skin. Then she loses me."

Fiyero laughed.

"Anyone else?" he prodded, hoping his tone didn't sound as hopeful to her ears as it did to his.

"Sometimes... sometimes there have been moments when I've felt it with you," she said shyly.

Fiyero thought of the Lion Cub, and knew she was too.

"Me too," was all he said.

And that was the end of the conversation.

The next day, Fiyero was a wreck. He wanted Elphaba to arrive before he did, and he knew she'd arrive punctually at eleven o'clock, so he had time to kill. He spent half an hour deciding what to wear. Only when did he realise he was in danger of becoming worse than Galinda did he simply pick something, pointing out to himself that Elphaba would not be caring what he was wearing.

And then after making sure the letter to Elphaba was in his jacket pocket, he had nothing to do but wait.

Meanwhile, Elphaba was pretty sure Galinda was more excited than she was. Galinda spent an hour and a half going through Elphaba's, Nessa's and her own closet to decide what Elphaba should wear.

Elphaba suffered through all of this with surprising patience, and didn't argue when Galinda finally chose a long, black, sleeveless dress. She brushed out her long hair and left it loose in soft waves.

"Good luck, Elphie," Galinda said in a trembling voice, hugging her tightly.

"Bring him to the _Wilted Rose_ after," Nessa suggested to her sister. "So we can all meet him."

"Sure," Elphaba agreed and headed to the canal.

It was a beautiful summer's day, and Elphaba was glad they'd decided upon an outdoor meeting place, because it seemed a shame to waste such wonderful weather after two weeks of rarely spending time anywhere but exam rooms and the library- as partial as she was to the library.

Despite the good weather, there was no one else around the Canal as Elphaba made her way to the willow tree. Galinda was right, it was a beautiful old tree, and would make a lovely meeting spot.

Galinda had forbidden her from bringing a book to pass the time while she was waiting, so Elphaba felt a bit lost and incredibly awkward with nothing to do as she waited.

It was exactly eleven o'clock when she arrived, and she wasn't sure how long she should wait. The tree was situated in a spot so she could see anyone approaching from any direction. But no matter which way she looked, the grounds were empty.

"Please don't stand me up again," she begged in a whisper as she stood under the tree, her arms folded and wrapped around her stomach; although she couldn't help but think that at least in this spot, he couldn't see her skin and leave unnoticed.

"Technically, I didn't exactly stand you up the first time," said a familiar voice, and Elphaba whirled around, startled.

There was still no one there, in any direction. Then, by chance, she looked up. And there was Fiyero, sitting on a branch.

"Fiyero? What- what are you doing here? And up in the tree…? You almost gave me a heart attack," she gasped, one hand on her chest.

Fiyero jumped to the ground. "I was going crazy waiting in my room," he confessed. "But I didn't want you to see me too soon. But I assumed you'd look up, I didn't mean to scare you."

Elphaba was still trying to recover her normal heart rate, and was completely confused.

"I- I don't understand," she said faintly.

Fiyero reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope, which he handed to her. "Read this. Please. Before you say anything."

Elphaba took it uncertainly, and noticed her name on the envelope. It was in "Dathien's" familiar handwriting.

Looking up at him, she saw his encouraging nod and opened the envelope. She read in silence, not lifting her eyes from the paper, trying to absorb everything she was reading. When she was finished, she slowly lifted her gaze to meet his, noting how nervous he was.

But Elphaba only had one question.

"You love me?"

Fiyero almost sank in relief, before registering her small voice asking the question. Nodding, he stepped forward, taking her hands in his even though she still held his letter.

"I love you, Elphaba, Fae, whatever you want me to call you," he said, chuckling lightly. "I love you."

Elphaba couldn't think of anything to say.

"I kind of like Fae," she whispered and Fiyero grinned.

"Me too."

Elphaba swallowed hard. She had just gained so much information in one sitting, her head was swimming.

"How could you not tell me who you were?" she demanded angrily, feeling kind of stupid she hadn't seen it before.

Fiyero had figured she'd be upset, and had to admit she had a right to be. But he'd expected the question, and had an answer ready.

"I didn't tell you for the same reason you didn't tell me about your skin," he said pointedly. Then looked her in the eyes as he replied simply. "I didn't want to lose you. The past few months... your letters have meant everything to me, Elphaba. I didn't want it to stop."

Elphaba just stared at him. She couldn't argue against that.

"After… after the Lion Cub… I thought…"

Fiyero smiled softly and nodded, bringing his head close to hers. "I know. I read the letter," he teased gently and she groaned, burying her head in her hands.

"Oh Oz, the _letters_…"

"Hey," he interjected, tilting her chin up so she was looking at him. "You were right. About pretty much everything."

"I feel so _stupid!,_" she muttered and Fiyero shook his head.

"Don't. You're hardly stupid, Fae."

"How did I not see it?" she demanded.

Fiyero shrugged. "Well, we were hardly friends in the beginning. And once I knew who you were... I did every thing in my power to keep you from finding out."

"Well, that hardly sounds flattering," she retorted flatly.

"I didn't want to say anything until you liked Fiyero even half as much as you seemed to like me as Dathien," he said quietly.

She said nothing, and Fiyero took that as an encouraging sign. He slowly began to lean in.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she whispered when their lips were mere inches apart.

Fiyero held back a groan. "Kiss you? Absolutely," he murmured.

She blushed and lowered her eyes. "I meant-"

Fiyero stopped her by closing that final inch, and pressing his lips to her in a sweet, soft kiss. Elphaba slowly and shyly responded to the kiss and it was a long moment before they pulled apart.

And all her protests were gone.

"I love you," Fiyero said firmly.

Elphaba smiled faintly. "I love you," she replied and Fiyero beamed at her.

Then she bit her lip. "What happens now?"

Fiyero paused. "That depends. Are you still mad at me?"

Elphaba wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling, she was still trying to get her head around everything. "I wouldn't say mad. Irritated, maybe... but I understand why," she admitted reluctantly. "Why?"

"Because I want to ask you a question, and I'd rather you're not mad at me when you answer," Fiyero replied.

Elphaba frowned inquisitively and Fiyero took a deep breath.

"Do you remember when I asked you what was going to happen when you met Dathien?"

"You mean you?" Elphaba retorted, her tone laced with sarcasm and then sighed as Fiyero only looked at her.

"Sorry. Not mad, I promise."

She sighed and tried to think back to the conversation he was referring to.

"In the cafeteria?" he prodded gently, and Elphaba nodded in recollection.

"Yes, what about it?"

"Do you remember I made a suggestion about what happen and you laughed at me?"

Elphaba didn't have to think too hard about that one. "_what if he wants to date you?" _The idea still sounded ridiculous.

"Yes," she replied faintly. "I remember."

Fiyero grinned. "Well, Fae... I want to date you."

Elphaba couldn't do anything other than blush. It sounded both competely wonderful and strange to actually hear him say it aloud.

And it wasn't that she didn't love him, or want to date him, but it was just her nature to be hesitant.

"What about Galinda?" she asked worriedly, wondering how her best friend would take to her dating her ex-boyfriend.

But Fiyero waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, she's fine with it. She's been nagging me for the past month to write to you and set up another meeting."

He didn't think about what he'd said, until Elphaba's eyes narrowed.

"_Galinda knows?"_

Fiyero grimaced. "Uh, well... yes," he admitted sheepishly.

"Galinda's known for the past _month_ and I didn't?"

"I had to tell her the truth when I broke up with her!" he defended himself against Elphaba's furious glare.

"Was she mad?" Elphaba worried.

"She was upset, but not mad," Fiyero reassured her. Then he hesitated. "So, where did we land on the whole dating thing?"

Elphaba stared at the letter in her hand for a few moments before looking back up at him.

"I'm going to hold you to that letter thing," she said, holding up his letter.

Fiyero grinned, recognising that as her agreement. "Easy. Will you write back?"

Elphaba pretended to think about that for a moment. "Maybe," she teased and then kissed him.

Fiyero was taking that as a yes. They _did_ have a whole summer to pass anyway.

**The End**

**AN. Also, I have a story for the sequel! It literally came to me at 11.30 last night as I was going to sleep. It's something I'd briefly thought of once in a while before but immediately dismissed because it seemed to normal for a Wicked fic.**

**But it works really well, so I'm going with it!**

**And random question in relation to the fic I'm currently working on- what do you think Oz's medical system is like? As in, how advanced? Or is that totally up to me, so I can use modern medicine?**


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